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| Friday, 23 January 2004 |
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Massive Rs. 285m fraud bared A massive fraud costing the state Rs. 285 million has been bared following a probe into a contract for supplying medical equipment to the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Children's Hospital,a Committee appointed by the UNF government had revealed. The Committee was appointed to make its recommendations on a contract worth US$ 17.7775 million to purchase medical equipment for the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Children's Hospital, Kandy. However, acting on the directives of highly influential officials the Ministry of Health had awarded the tender to an Austrian firm. According to investigation Committee, the Tender Evaluation Committee (TEC) had performed its duty in a haphazard manner and falsified its own report to suit the need of the suppliers instead of the requirements of the Hospital. The TEC report says that all equipment supplied to the Hospital conformed to the technical specifications stipulated for such equipment by the Biomedical Engineering Services. This is a complete falsehood, the investigation report stated. The TEC merely acted as a rubber stamp for the suppliers the report adds. The report states "we are not aware of any precedent where a supplier has been paid a project management fee which was high as Rs. 110 million". For the implementation of this project foreign funds amounting to US$ 13.6750 million has been raised through an Austrian soft loan scheme and the rest of US$ 4.1025 million has been obtained from the consolidated fund, the report indicates. In the original offer the foreign funding agency has expressed their willingness to provide funds for both buildings and equipment. But later on, it had informed the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) that it did not wish to provide funds for the construction work of the buildings, the report says. The Funding Agency has made an alternative proposal to the TEC that it would spend the sum of Rs. 285,541,520 which was originally allocated for building construction work, to purchase additional equipment. The TEC thereafter recommended the purchase of equipment to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital by transferring funds from one specific project to an other without a formal request either from the hospital or from the Director General Health Services, the report noted. The report says: "This raises the question as to how the supplier was made aware that this equipment was needed by the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. What procedure was followed? It suggests that there have been informal links between the supplier and individuals in the Health Ministry," the report pointed out. "There is no proper document with detailed invoices listing options, accessories, consumable and spares. Instead there was only a schedule of model numbers and prices which is absolutely insufficient for an evaluation to be made", report indicate. The MRI scanner is the most expensive and sophisticated piece of equipment but there were no details about accessories like coils, helium, replacement and warranty. In case of ultrasound scanners no mention is made of which "Probes" are offered, the report highlights. In reply to the questions posed by the committee, the TEC has admitted that the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory offered for the Lady Ridgeway Hospital at a cost of Rs 52,252,880.00 cannot be operated without the physiological monitoring system and contrast injector. The Government got to pay another Rs. 10 million to put the equipment in order. There were 265 items offered but specifications were available only for six items. It was impossible to see how the TEC could have made an evaluation in the absence of a comprehensive offer and necessary data from the supplier. "We conclude therefore that the statement made by the TEC that all the equipment conforms to technical specifications stipulated by the BES is false," the report said. The General Public who also made contributions towards this venture has urged the authorities to probe this shady deal and bring the culprits to book since it is a great insult to the late leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike who abhorred corruption, bribery and wastage. |
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