close
Friday March 29, 2024

ACE seizes records of JPMC, Korangi govt hospital in raids

Karachi Teams of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Sindh raided Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and (JPMC) and Sindh Government Hospital Korangi and seized records of procurement, equipment, machinery, construction and other expenditure occurring during the past couple of years. However, no arrests have been made yet. Two teams of

By M Waqar Bhatti
November 18, 2015
Karachi
Teams of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Sindh raided Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and (JPMC) and Sindh Government Hospital Korangi and seized records of procurement, equipment, machinery, construction and other expenditure occurring during the past couple of years.
However, no arrests have been made yet.
Two teams of ACE Sindh simultaneously raided the JPMC and Sindh Government Hospital Korangi around noon on Tuesday. They sealed the administration blocks of both hospitals and confiscated records of procurements of medicines, surgical items, chemicals, vehicles, and also of recruitment and construction.
Meanwhile, raids were also carried out at two public hospitals in Talhar town of Badin district and Umerkot district where the ACE officials seized regarding procurement and expenditure of the facilities.
Director ACE Sindh Nazar Muhammad Bozdar while talking to The News confirmed that the raids took place. He said the ACE was investigating financial and administrative embezzlement all across Sindh following directives of the Sindh High Court. In this regard, he said, four hospitals, two in Karachi and two in rural districts of Sindh, were raided and their records was confiscated.
“Our investigators have seized records of procurement of equipment and medicine and construction from the JPMC. They also sought the details of vehicles being used by JPMC officials,” Bozdar said.
The other ACE team which raided the Sindh Government Hospital in Korangi No 5 also seized records of all the purchases and procurement, while details of all the expenditure, including that incurred on construction, were also sought from the hospital administration.
He said both the ACE teams also visited the warehouses of both hospitals and checked their records and inventories.
Bozdar said the ACE was mandated to unearth any misappropriation of funds during procurement or spending and then fix its responsibility for registration of cases against those responsible.
“The ACE chairman has constituted nine teams that are investigating financial misappropriations at all public hospitals in the province. In this regard, he said, several hospitals in Karachi and interior of Sindh have been raided in the recent days and their records were seized.”
He said earlier in Karachi, ACE officials had raided and impounded the files of Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad. However, he said, no records were available for Valika Hospital in SITE and its administrative and financial officials had been asked to record statements with ACE investigators.
Bozdar said the investigation was an ongoing process and added that more hospitals’ record would be checked if any financial or administrative embezzlements were being carried out or done in the recent past. The JPMC’s deputy director Dr Javed Jamali confirmed that ACE officials had paid a visit to the hospital on Tuesday, saying they had earlier come on Monday but had left when they were informed that the offices were closed and were politely asked to return on Tuesday to carry out their investigation.
“The ACE officials arrived and sought record of various heads including the purchase of medicines and other equipment, details of vehicles in our use and appointments made. We have provided every document they have asked for,” he said.
Jamali claimed all the purchases, including those of medicines and surgical items, were carried out through the Central Purchase Committee for Sindhs’ hospitals and as such the JPMC could not procure anything on its own so it cannot be held accountable.
It is worth mentioning that after probes by the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency against administrations of major public hospitals including JPMC and Civil Hospital Karachi, ACE Sindh has also become quite active during the past couple of months and has begun launching its own investigations in the province.
So far, no solid evidence of any financial or administrative embezzlement has been found by the investigating agencies. Although patients are still deprived of necessary medicine and are asked to seek quality treatment at private hospitals and are also referred to private laboratories for medical examinations.