ACE raids KIHD over ‘complaints of mismanagement’

Officials of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) raided the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD), on Wednesday, apparently over complaints of embezzlement and mismanagement at the medical facility.

The hospital was said to have had ghost employees, whereas funds and medical equipment had been misappropriated from the hospital

Led by ACE deputy director Naveed Arian, the officials were directed to close all entrance and exit points and seize procurement records of various departments as well as record of hiring.

As the ACE investigators were busy in looking for proof of corruption, Arain and other investigators also spoke to KIHD Executive Director Dr Zahid Rasheed and recorded his statement.

ACE Director Usman Ghani later said the investigators had raided the medical facility after it received several complaints of huge misappropriation and embezzlement of funds by the administration and staff of the hospital, while patients were not being provided proper treatment.

He claimed that patients and their attendants were being asked to purchase all medicines, equipment and supplies from the market while funds acquired from the exchequer were being embezzled instead of being spent on facilities for the economically downtrodden patients.

The ACE director claimed they had managed to seize several ledgers containing evidences of misappropriation of funds, vowing to bring all those behind the corruption to task. Investigations into complaints of several persons against ghost employees had also been launched; the employees were reportedly running private clinics but drawing salaries form the hospital.

Ghani claimed the investigators also raided various public offices in Khairpur, Kandhkot and Larkana and seized records of these departments while some accused were also arrested, who were allegedly involved in misappropriation of funds and public property.

The Sindh chief minister was also said to have issued clear directives to launch a province-wide crackdown against corruption, and not spare officials found involved in plundering public money and resources to not be spared, the ACE director claimed.