Staff reporter :
The Committee for the Protection of Fundamental Rights on Monday demanded transparency and accountability in the procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
In a statement on behalf of the committee, Shahdeen Malik, a noted jurist, said the health minister has recently informed people about the government’s process to procure Covid-19 vaccine from various sources.
As per the latest announcement, 10 crore vaccines will be collected by the government.
“First of all, we welcome this initiative of the government and we are sure that vaccination will start in the country very soon. But we urge the government to provide adequate information to the country and the people about the news of the import of vaccines through the mediation of non-governmental organisations,” reads the statement.
“In particular, we urge the government to provide the citizens with detailed information on whether the required legal requirements were met and competitive bids were invited for the selection and identification of the said public limited company,” the statement also added.
“We are concerned that since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, widespread corruption in various sectors of the state, especially in the health sector, has been exposed or reported in the news, we fear that if transparency and accountability in the procurement and distribution of these vaccines is not ensured, hundreds of crores of taka of the government might be misappropriated and particular quarter might be benefitted illegally.”
The committee also demanded that a policy be formulated on providing vaccination on a priority basis.
The Committee for the Protection of Fundamental Rights on Monday demanded transparency and accountability in the procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
In a statement on behalf of the committee, Shahdeen Malik, a noted jurist, said the health minister has recently informed people about the government’s process to procure Covid-19 vaccine from various sources.
As per the latest announcement, 10 crore vaccines will be collected by the government.
“First of all, we welcome this initiative of the government and we are sure that vaccination will start in the country very soon. But we urge the government to provide adequate information to the country and the people about the news of the import of vaccines through the mediation of non-governmental organisations,” reads the statement.
“In particular, we urge the government to provide the citizens with detailed information on whether the required legal requirements were met and competitive bids were invited for the selection and identification of the said public limited company,” the statement also added.
“We are concerned that since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, widespread corruption in various sectors of the state, especially in the health sector, has been exposed or reported in the news, we fear that if transparency and accountability in the procurement and distribution of these vaccines is not ensured, hundreds of crores of taka of the government might be misappropriated and particular quarter might be benefitted illegally.”
The committee also demanded that a policy be formulated on providing vaccination on a priority basis.
