The Ministry of Public Health paid over $14 million on drugs and medical supplies for unidentified PPP/C government officials in February last year, according to the latest Auditor General’s report.
The report, which covers 2015, was laid in the National Assembly on Thursday. The report notes that on February 25, 2015, under the former PPP/C administration, the ministry sought and was awarded a waiver by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to award a contract in the sum of $14.572 million for drugs and supplies, which had been supplied during the period April to December of 2014 to the ministry’s Material Management Unit (MMU) at Kingston. The supplies included several thousand insulin syringes as well as allergy, hypertension and heart disease medication.
The audit office was, however, unable to determine who authorised the supply of the drugs and medical supplies and documentation revealed that they had been purchased for government officials whose identities were not stated.
Additional checks found that the receipt and issue of these drugs were not recorded in the records of the MMU at Diamond.
The report concludes that as a result, the audit office could not “determine the propriety, accuracy and validity of the amount expended.”
The drugs and supplies worth in excess of $14 million which were procured on behalf of government officials. (Source: Auditor General’s Report for 2015)
