December 29, 2001	Saturday	Shawwal 13, 1422

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MULTAN, Dec 28: The Punjab chief secretary has sent a summary to the governor to allow procurement of emergency medicines at a uniform rate throughout the province in order to make them immediately available at state-run health facilities.

A well-placed source in the provincial health department told Dawn that the provincial head of the civil bureaucracy had recently met the district coordination officers of a number of districts and discussed with them the problem of medicines at official health facilities for the last more than six months.

The DCOs reportedly apprised the chief secretary that apart from procedural shortcomings after the introduction of devolution plan, variation in the prices of medicines in various districts had been another main hurdle, refraining the reputed national and multinational firms from responding to tenders called by the EDOs (Health) separately for their respective districts for the procurement of medicines under the new system of local government.

The DCOs further informed the chief secretary that for this very reason the process of medicine procurement could not be completed despite giving them the powers of principal procurement officers and to EDOs the powers of chief procurement officers through a letter, though, without amending the provincial purchase manual.

It may be added here that the additional chief secretary enjoys the powers of principal procurement officer while secretary of the department concerned the powers of chief procurement officer under the manual.

Earlier, it was learnt that the provincial health secretary had opposed the suggestion that the department should allow the districts to procure medicines on a uniform rate formulated by him (the secretary) before the functioning of the district governments. Sources quoted him in the EDOs meeting chaired by the provincial health minister as saying, “Why should I be a party to it.”

But, in an unprecedented move, as the sources put it, the chief secretary had proposed in a summary to the governor to order procurement of medicines under the uniform rate formulated by the health department authorities. “It has seldom happened that the chief secretary has to send a summery to the provincial chief executive after bypassing the secretary,” the sources added.

ARRESTED: The local police on Friday claim to have arrested two dacoits and recovered a car and two pistols from their possession.

Basti Malook police arrested Pervez and Barkat Ali of the Kabeer Gang and also recovered the car (9125-Karachi) and two pistols. The arrested outlaws confessed that they had been involved in five dacoity cases. The gang leader, Kabeer and Shafiq, were still at large, they said.

COP SHOT AT: A constable was shot at and injured seriously on resistance during a robbery bid in Shujabad on Friday.

Abdul Samad was on his way home by a motorcycle when unidentified robbers intercepted him near Sikandarabad Morr. The outlaws shot at and injured him for putting up resistance. He was rushed to the Nishtar Hospital where his condition was stated to be serious.