Staff Reporter :
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has found illegal transaction of money for official work in the Department of Drug Administration.
The bribe is paid from issuance of license for pharmaceutical companies to drug registration.
TIB disclosed it on Thursday in its study report under caption ‘Good governance in the department of Drug Administration: Challenges and Way Out’ at a press conference at its Dhanmondi office.
TIB Trustee Board Chairman and former Advisor for Caretaker Government Sultana Kamal, Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, and Researchers M Shanur Rahman and Nazmul Huda were present, among others.
Many drug manufacturing companies maintain close link with some drug administration officials and pay them a good amount of money for getting their work done on priority basis, the report says.
The report says that money is transacted for new licences, renewal thereof, project handover, registration of medicines and other matters. The report further says that Tk 10 lakh to Tk 15 lakh is paid for project handover. For drug registration highest Tk 1.5 lakh is paid while Tk 6,000 to 7,000 is paid for the sample examination of medicine, it says. TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman claimed that they had talked to many officials of the department of drug administration before completing the report.
In response to a question, he said that many officials of the drug administration had admitted of the illegal transaction of money.
The consumers become the victims of the illegal transaction of money, he said.
The big drug manufacturing companies produce the exportable medicines with good quality raw materials, but when they manufacture medicines for sale at local markets, they use substandard raw materials, Dr Iftekharuzzaman went on saying. On the present politics situation in the country, he requested the two main political parties to reach consensus in order to bring an end to political stalemate. “We do not want violence in politics. We do not want such programmes as kill men and women and children and destroy property.
TIB Trustee Board Chairman Sultana Kamal said that the dutifulness is the largest area of good governance. The department of drug administration has lack of that dutifulness.
Those, who should work for good governance in the sector, either do not work exactly or cannot do under pressure of others, she said. She said that the committees, which were formed to monitor production and sale of medicine properly, did not work.
The interests of business circles and political parties are given priority over State interests. This should not be allowed to continue.
