October 14, 2006	Saturday	Ramazan 20, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

MIANWALI, Oct 13: An exhaustive inquiry into a Rs5 million medicine purchase scam has declared the executive district officer (health) guilty of masterminding the illegal act to appropriate money.

No sooner had the report been completed than EDO (Health) Dr Mumtaz Ahmad got himself transferred to his home district Faisalabad where he has been posted as assistant principal medical officer.

A few weeks ago, some health department officials and District Headquarters Hospital staff members levelled allegation of corruption in the purchase of medicines worth millions of rupees in June 2006.

The DCO ordered an inquiry during which the inquiry officer found EDO Dr Mumtaz Ahmad, a retired army captain, guilty of receiving kickback to the tune of Rs5 million.

A relative of a ruling party office-bearer, Dr Mumtaz has a reputation of being a highhanded man. He has immediately got himself transferred to Faisalabad — an indication that he has tacitly admitted his wrongdoing.

After a month-long probe into the procurement of spurious and substandard medicines by the district health department, the inquiry committee, headed by EDO (Planning and Management) Sakhawat Ali Rana, has presented a report to the DCO. DDO (Revenue) Wajid Ali Shah, DHDC programme director Dr Muhammad Khan and Ms Yasmin Akhtar, a DHQ hospital employee, were the committee members.

The health department is alleged to have made gross irregularities in the purchase of medicines as the officials approached the pharmaceutical companies not enlisted by the government and struck a deal with them for the supply of substandard medicines against the price invoices of the medicines of the approved companies.

The medicines supplied were not in the green packing, which is the requirement of the purchase made out of public funds. It is learnt that the EDO health had appointed Mr Ahmad Husain Qureshi, a junior dispenser of a RHC as storekeeper bypassing the official authorised to do the job. Subsequently, he directed all drawing and disbursing officers of the hospitals through a letter No MW/7328/CS issued on July 27, 2006 to make the payment for the purchased medicines through Mr Qureshi.

Meanwhile, the social circles have expressed fear that the inquiry report might be swept under the carpet.

They have urged the chief minister to take stock of the irregularities and award punishment to the culprits.