Works secretary told to take over ongoing health dept projects

Taking exception to the non-completion of development projects in government-run hospitals, the judicial commission probing non-provision of clean drinking water, sanitation and healthy environment to the people of Sindh, has directed the Works and Services department to take over all such ongoing contracts.

In a hearing on Tuesday, the chairman of planning and development, Mohammad Waseem, submitted that there was no provision under the Rules of Business authorising any of the government departments to appoint consultants for repair and maintenance work. He added that any such consultants appointed by the health department or any other department do not have the sanction of the law.

The Supreme Court-appointed commission said that consultants appointed by health department need to be re-notified and ordered the works and services secretary to take charge of all ongoing contracts given to consultants [by medical superintendents] as well as any projects assigned to contractors by any such consultants, after taking inventory and then proceed with the project as if it were assigned to it in the first place.

The commission observed that liabilities, if any, of the consultant and or contractor shall be examined and settled by the secretary works through the chief engineer.

New procurement committee

Moreover, the Justice (retd) Amir Hani Muslim-led commission also constituted a new central procurement committee in the health department with Professor Dr Saeed Qureshi as chairman and Dr Tariq Rafi, Professor Dr Munir Junejo, Professor Aneela Attaur Rehman, additional director pharmacy Shafi M Qureshi, additional secretary of health and additional secretary finance as members.

Assigning the committee’s terms of reference, the commission stated that it will prepare bidding documents, carry out technical and financial evaluation of the bids, prepare evaluation report, make recommendations for awarding of contracts to the competent authority and monitor procured medicines with regard to their quality and genuineness.

The committee would also be authorised to monitor the distribution of the supply of medicines of the different hospitals and medical facilities and to generate a compliance report to be placed on the website for the public. The commission added that the chief of the National Accountability Bureau may appoint any additional director under him as member of the procurement committee in order to ensure transparency of procurement process by the said committee.

Furthermore, discussing the issue of the mushroom growth of housing schemes when the city is already stressed for several basic municipal necessities, the commission directed the Sindh Building Control Authority director general to demolish any such housing schemes that may have been constructed without proper approval.

With regard to the cleaning of drains, Local Bodies Secretary Mohammad Ramzan submitted that Rs500 million has been released for the purpose, while the director of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board submitted that garbage was being removed from different parts of the city, however, unions of the district municipal corporations were creating hurdles in process.

Mayor Waseem Akhtar said the KMC will remove garbage from city drains and added that encroachments had been removed from Gujjar Nullah, but they have returned. The commission also visited drains of the city to monitor the cleaning campaign and ultimately adjourned the hearing till March 22.