REPORT in a national daily on Tuesday said presence of the parliamentary standing committee on Health Ministry is nowhere visible over the last nine months of the pandemic when it didn’t hold a single to discuss the government response to Covic-19 pandemic challenges. It shows the sort of indifference of the highest parliamentary body to emergency situation caused by the pandemic. Over 7,300 people died in the country so far in official count while informally it is much more but the government is apparently suppressing the actual figure to suppress its failure to protect the people.
We know it was the responsibility of the committee to come forward at this critical time to demand transparency and accountability of government activities but it remained totally dysfunctional to not find fault with any sort of government failures. True to its surrogate role of elected MPs in a fake election, the committee believes helping the government is not to come out to help the people.
As we see healthcare services went under severe strain during this period exposing corruption and mismanagement. Reports of misappropriation of huge money for procurement of medical equipment were common, fraudulent activities by private hospitals and clinics owned by government cronies made media headlines over fake collection if imaginary bills against fake test reports. But none of these could draw attention of the health watchdog. More significantly infected patients moved from hospital to hospital for admission and treatment and were turned down but the committee didn’t ask for an explanation.
As per rules a parliamentary standing committee examine bills, review different activities of the concerned Ministry and run probe into irregularities to make sure that the health services are properly working. The committee should sit at least once a month but since April this year when the pandemic hit the nation hard it didn’t sit even for once.
We know that the government is now procuring vaccine when a second wave is also looming but the role of the watchdog body is nowhere visible how it should tackle the situation. Members are regularly drawing huge salary and other allowances but against no good for the people. The explanation of the committee chairman that due to the pandemic members were unable to meet is nothing but a lame excuse. We must say it is just shocking.
