ISLAMABAD – Violation of procurement rules, irregular award of work and non-recovery of dues have caused a dent worth Rs 172.697 million on Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences during the outgoing fiscal year 2011-12.
The annual report of Auditor General of Pakistan has detected irregularities worth Rs 23.391 in irregular award of contract, wasteful expenditure of Rs 5.044 and loss of Rs 144.604 million, besides maintenance of 33 bank accounts without ministry’s approval. The corruption detectives revealed that Pims’ management spent Rs 23.391 million on repair and maintenance work of Liver Transplant Unit without open bid, to a contractor pre-qualified for annual repair work. Moreover, the Executive Director also unlawfully split contract work into 53 parts. According to the Pims management, work was awarded to already pre-qualified contractor owing to unsatisfactory repair work of Pak PWD.
The management accepted the audit objections; however departmental audit committee was not convened to take up the matter to initiate inquiry and fix responsibility. The auditors pointed out that Pims made payment of Rs 5.043 million to NESPAK in March, 2007 for consultancy services for preparation of PC-1 and supervision of Medical Tower project at Pims.
Having its PC-1 approved in 2007, the project could not yet be started rather another project work for up-gradation and improvement of facilities at Pims was started abandoning the original project resulted into wasteful expenditure of Rs 5.044 million. In another instance, the Pims started construction of Quaid-e-Azam Postgraduate Medical College at cost of Rs 87 million. Till 2008, the contractor had completed only 25 percent of work but the management paid Rs 86.201 million to contractor that was 99 percent of total cost.
The management accepted the audit observation and fixation of responsibility, the auditors recommended for making full payment to contractor. The audit observed that six 1600cc vehicles were on the general transport pool of the Pims but were actually in use of individuals.
The vehicles shown as ‘standby’ had also covered thousands of the kilometres that resulted into loss of Rs 0.658 million. The Pims had engaged a firm M/s Pharmax for a period of 20 years but numerous complaints and death of a patient due to provision of wrong injection, the contract terminated in 2002.
However, following tenders were floated, another firm, D. Watson offered Rs 375,000 per month on same terms and conditions but offer was not accepted what the audit observed had incurred loss of Rs 38.478 million from March 2003 to December last year. The auditors revealed that the Pims management had opened 33 bank accounts in National Bank of Pakistan Pims Branch without approval from the ministry of finance, though 17 of them had been shown as inoperative.
The audit report said that any funds received in these accounts are not accounted for in the accounts books and are susceptible for misappropriation.
Among other anomalies, the audit has detected non-recovery of rent, utility charges and fine worth Rs 10.103 million from contractors of different shops and cafeterias, irregular ward of contract of tuck shop worth Rs 4.4822 million and loss due to theft of spare cable valuing Rs 5 million.