Irregularities at DI Khan hospital: NAB turns complaint verification into inquiry

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has turned the complaint verification (CV) of serious irregularities at the Dera Ismail Khan Medical Teaching Hospital into a formal inquiry. The hospital management is accused of violating KPPRA rules in procurement and tendering of various items.

According to documents available with this scribe, biomedical equipment were purchased from M/s Friends Traders at higher rates as compared to approved rates of the Health Department. A total loss calculated at the initial stage is Rs 22.552 million.

Another irregularity has been found in the transaction of Rs 280 million from the Bank of Khyber to the Allied Bank Limited. The transaction record was not found. As many as 48 CCTV cameras costing Rs 1,048,860 were purchased for the DHQ Hospital by obtaining a single quotation from the market (Awami CCTV Works Ltd, D.I.Khan) in August, September 2019 without tender advertisement.

The contract of canteen of the DHQ for 2019-20 was awarded to the highest bidder (Al-Mayar Trader D.I.Khan) but KPPRA registration of the contractor is not available. Surgical masks, face shields, sanitizers, oxygen concentrators, thermal guns, KN-95 masks, and corona diagnostic kits were purchased at more than market rates. An initial inquiry detected a loss of Rs 3,379,500.

On the basis of LP, medicine worth Rs 8,235,728 was procured from M/s Daman Medicos. The discount of 1.5 was given by M/s Daman Medicos instead of the accepted discount rate of 5.1 due to which a loss amounting to Rs 42,067 was caused. Similarly, the management transferred Rs 266 million from the account of the Gomal Medical College in the Bank of Khyber to the Bank of Punjab as they claimed that the BoP offered higher interest rates. Relevant records such as letters to banks, replies/rates offered by banks, comparative records and meeting records are missing.

The hospital management was contacted for several times, but the hospital Director, Dr Farrukh Jamil, did not respond to any message of this scribe.