A news report in The New Nation made the disclosure on Sunday that some corrupt health sector officials were trying to swindle one hundred crore taka from the public coffer by using a fake tender bid in the name of purchasing machinery for two hospitals and nine Upazila Health Complexes of the Pabna district. Two officers who were involved in this move have been relieved of their duties and made OSD as well. The story said the Health Minister was not aware of the move and was ‘astonished to know that a work order of that magnitude’ could be passed without his knowledge. He has stopped the purchase order and said the offenders would be punished.
As the news report said, Civil Surgeon of Pabna district, Caretaker of Pabna General Hospital, some local ruling party men and a supply contractor had jointly taken up the move and the purchase order was passed in a decision at Civil Surgeon office in March last year. Later a demand note was placed to the Central Drug Store (CMSD) to procure the equipment. A tender bid was opened on April 16 and the supply order was awarded to a local firm named as Bengal Scientific to execute the order. The local firm made a request to the Ministry later to place fund to purchase the equipment and the move thus came to the light.
As we see this is a sensational move to swindle government money, but this is neither for the first time nor for the last. But what appears quite shocking is the nexus between the local health official, ruling party men and businessmen to work as a syndicate to go away with the huge government money under the cover of a fake public procurement tender.
Earlier reports said most local hospitals and health complexes in many districts are now having lot of medical equipment and laboratory gears lying unused in store after being similarly imported through mysterious procurement orders. But these health installations have no trained technicians and doctors to use the equipment in treating patients. Here the sole purpose was to import these gears under high import bills through false invoicing and grab the money to be shared by persons involved in the unholy syndicate. But we take here with positive note that the Health Minister’s prompt action by suspending the order and asking for a probe. But skeptics wonder again saying if the Health Minister will be able to stay the course denying pressure from local party men who have engineered the moved and pushed it to passing the tender by local health officials.
We are really bewildered to see that corruption is destabilizing every public institution and more so the health sector organizations where highly influential lobbies are at work to make illegal money under fictitious work orders. But who will stop? Stealing public money is easy and goes unpunished.
