By Azizullah Hamdard
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has spent above eight million afghanis additional amount purchasing medicines, medical equipment and health products at exorbitant rates for the Afghan-Japan Hospital, Pajhwok Afghan News learned reliably on Monday.
According to available documents, one IV bag, the original price of which is 65 afs, has been purchased for over 260 afs. In comparison with the market price, the total IV bags consumed 4.2 million afs extra.
A bill No. 67, dated April, 2020, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) purchased 26 types of medicines at the cost of 11 million afs. But some wholesalers and medicine importers put the total price of the medicines at 20,000,744 afs.
These medicines included 4,000 glucose IV drips, 500mg 10pc set, 500 glucose IV drips 500mg 5pc set, 1,000 mix IV drips 500mg with set, 5,000 ringer IV drip 500mg with sets, 10 bags of Etil Alkohel-96, 30 boxes of Alcohol bags, 10,000 Ampol Ciftriaxon, 1,000 disposable thermometers, four stethoscopes and four blood pressure devices.
In addition, 45 cartons of small, medium and large size medical gloves, 200 complete sets of immune kits, 200 disposable immune laboratory coats, 50 cartons of safety paper boxes, 100 boxes for sample delivery, 200 rolls of toilet paper, 500 rolls of large size cleaning paper, 50 immune glasses, 95 pillows, 50 shoe soaks, 50 dustbin, 20 brooms were among the items purchased.
Pajhwok received a number of documents relating to the purchase of medical equipment but Pajhwok chose 26 items for this report and after comparison and collection of price quotations, it was learned that corruption had happened during the transaction.
A roll of toilette paperTwo-hundred rolls of toilette papers had been purchased by the MoPH for 23,000 afs with one roll of toilette paper accounting for 115 afs. But the original price of a roll of toilette paper is 15 afs and 200 rolls of toilette paper are accounted for 3,000 afs showing a difference of over 20,000 afs.
Large size cleaning paperFive-hundred rolls of large size cleaning paper were purchased at a total price of over one million afs, with one roll costing 2,700 afs.
But the original price of one roll of large size cleaning paper is 250 afs in the market with 500 rolls are sold for 125,000 afs --- so an additional 226,000 afs were spent.
Glucose drip 500mg with 10pc setThe documents show 4,000 glucose 500mg drips were purchased against above 10,000,853 afs and the price of one drip was 420 afs.
But in the market, the price of one glucose drip 500mg with 10 percent set is 65 afs and 500 drips account for 325,000, showing an extravagant spending of 199,000 afs.
Glucose drip 500mgs with set 5percentFive-hundred glucose drips 500mg with set five percent purchased at the cost of 231,000 afs and one drip accounted for 460 afs.
But in the market one glucose drip accounted for 65 afs and 500 drips cost 325,000 afs, showing an additional spending of 199,000 afs.
Mix drip 500mg with setOne thousand mix drips 500mg were purchased for 463,000afs, with every drip consuming 460 afs.But the original price of one mix drip in the market is 65 afs and 1,000 dips accounted for 65,000 afs showing an additional spending of over 398,000afs.
Ringer drip 500mg with setFive thousand ringer drips 500mg with sets were bought over 2.3 million afs with one drip costing 460 afs. But the original price of one mix drip in the market is 65 afs and 5,000 drips could cost over 325,000 afs --- about 991,000 additional spending compared to the MoPH purchasing.
Ampol CiftraxonTen thousand ciftraxon had been purchased for more than 1.6 million afs, and one ciftraxon accounted for over 160 afs.The market price of one ciftraxon is 115 afs and 10,000 accounted for over 1.1 million afs, showing an additional spending of 471,000 afs.
Check up gloves small, medium, large sizeSixty-carton of different size of gloves were purchased at the cost of 148,000 afs with every carton costing 2,470 afs.But one carton of check up gloves is available in the market for 800 afs and 60 cartons accounted for 48,000 afs, showing an additional spending of 10,000 afs.
Complete set of immune kitTwo hundred set of immune kits for health workers were purchased at the cost of over two million afs --- each costing over 10,000 afs.However, a complete immune set in the market costs 15,000 afs with 200 kits costing 300,000 afs, showing an extravagant spending over 1.7 million afs.
Shoe wearTwo-hundred of foot wears were purchased for 30,900 afs or one for 154 afs while 200 footwear cost 30,000 afs in the market, showing an additional spending of 900 afs.
Immune glassesFifty immune glasses were purchased for 85,000 afs with one glass costing 1,700 afs. But in the market the price of one immune glass is 300 afs and 50 glasses cost over 15,000 afs, showing an additional spending of 70,000 afs.
Immune levorotary coatTwo hundred immune laboratory coats had been purchased at the cost of over 92,000, each consuming 463 afs.But one laboratory coat in the market costs 150 afs and 200 of them accounted for 30,000 afs, showing an additional spending of 62,000 afs comparing to the earlier purchases.
5-litre paper safety boxFifty cartons of 5-litre paper safety boxes were purchased at the cost of 46,300 afs. Each carton that contains 25 boxes accounted for 926 afs.But in the market one carton of safety box is accounted for 1,000 afs with 50 of them accounted for 50,000 afs.
Etil Alkohol 96Ten bottles of etil alcohol 96 have been purchased for 21,000 afs. one 2.5 litre bottle was bought for 2,160 afs. But one bottle of alcohol 96 in the market is sold for 1,500 afs and ten bottles account for 15,000 afs that show over 66,000 additional amount spending.
White coatTwenty white coats for health workers were purchased for 11,583 afs with one coat costing 850afs. But in the market one coat is accounted for 300 afs and 20 cost 6,000 afs. It shows 5,500 extra.
Alkohol padThrity boxes of alkohol pad were purchased for 2,316 afs, each box costing 77 afs. But in the market one box of alcohol pad is sold at 200 afs and 30 boxes cost 6,000 afs. The price has declined recently.
TharmametreOne thousand disposable thermametre cost over 38,000 afs with one thermaetre consuming 38 afs.But in the market one tharmametre is sold at 150 afs and 1,000 thermametre cost 150,000 afs.
Smaple delivery kitOne hundred boxes of smaple delivery kit cost 393,000 afs with each box costing over 3,938 afs.But in the market one box of sample delivery kit is sold at 1,000 afs and 100 boxes accounted for 100,000 afs. An extra 293,000 had been spent in this purchase.
BroomAt least 20 brooms have been bought for 7,722 afghanis, each costing 386 afghanis, but one broom could be bought with 40 afghanis and the total price of 20 could be 800afs. In this case, nearly 7,000 afghanis were spent extra.
DustbinAt least 50 plastic dustbins were bought at 29,000 afghanis or one for more than 579 afs.However, a dustbin is sold in the bazaar for 300 afs and 50 are priced at 15,000 afs. It shows over 13,900 afs had been spent extra here.
At least 95 pillows have been purchased with nearly total cost of 37,000 afghanis and each of them cost more than 386 afs.But a pillow can be bought in bazaar for 200 afs and 95 pillows could consume 19,000 afs ---more than 17,600 afs were paid extra here.
FootwearAt least 50 pairs of footwear have been purchased with more than total cost of 19,300 afghanis and it seems each pair cost over 386 afs.But in a pair of footwear could be purchased for 250 afs and 50 pairs of them could be accounted for 12,500 afs and here 6,800 afs have been paid extra.
StatoscopeFour set of statoscopes have been purchased by more than 2,780 afs and each price is equal with 695 afs.But one statoscope could be sold by 400 afs in Bazar and four of them could be accounted with 1,600 and nearly 1200 afghanis have been also spent extra here.
Pressure deviceFour Pressure devices have been purchased with more than 77,000 afs and each with over 19,300.But one pressure device is sold for 1,300 afghanis which four of them sold for 5,200 and more than 72,000 afghanis spent extra.
The document of purchase of diesel fuel by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and bills of purchase of diesel fuel by Pajhwok Afghan News on the mentioned date are as follows:
Purchase of fuelIn the fuel purchase document dated April 20th, 2020 and April 19th, 2020, a copy of which is available with Pajhwok shows that 479 liters of diesel were purchased for more than 30,000 afghanis, or 63 afghanis per liter.But bills of the purchased diesel on the same date show that one liter of diesel was sold for 46 afghanis and it seems 8,000 afghanis were spent extra in the fuel contract.
Citizens’ complaints about corruption in health sectorA number of citizens have described the Ministry of Public Health as a corrupt entity and say patients die every day while the ministry is busy embezzling the donated money.
Shamsullah Hoshmand, an employee of a private institution who is living in capital Kabul, told Pajhwok that most patients used to stay home instead of being hospitalized due to corruption and lack of attention in hospitals.
He added due to lack of proper control and observation in hospitals, embezzlement in this sector has reached the top and purchasing departments were preparing and submitting their reports based on their favor.
Navid, another inhabitant of Kabul city, also criticized the lack of observation in healthcare centers, adding hundreds of millions of US dollars have been donated to Afghanistan but all the money was embezzled and even a small change could not be brought in this sector.
He urged the government to hire qualified and professional people to lead the health sector.
The views of the Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) Sayed Ekram Afzali, head for the Integrity Watch Afghanistan, expressed his deep concern over corruption in the country’s health sector, saying recent reports of embezzlement at the Ministry of Public Health disappointed the public.
He added the quality of healthcare services in government hospitals had declined due to existence of corruption and lack of management.
He said people had lost their trust in this sector and were complaining about lack of attention from the relevant authorities.
He termed the health sector as the pulse of society and called on the government to halt corruption in the sector and remove corrupt elements from the MoPH.
When asked if government action in terms of fighting the Covid-19 was satisfactory Afzali said that according to Transparency International’s 2019 report on corruption, Afghanistan was ranked among the ten most corrupt countries in the world.
He said Somalia, South Sudan and Syria were the three most corrupt countries in the world, according to the mentioned report but Afghanistan dropped one point to 173rd with 16 points on the anti-corruption index.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan improved its ranking from 177th to 172nd by gaining 16 points in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018.
Shahla Farid, a professor of law and political science at Kabul University, described embezzlement as a crime, saying the law provided different penalties for embezzlers based on how they commit the crime.
Referring to the existence of several institutions dealing with crimes, she said there was no institute to fight deep-seated causes of corruption and that the Afghan government had failed and achieved nothing in this regard.
She expressed dissatisfaction with government’s failure to prevent corruption, saying that an investigation by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) showed that the Afghan government had failed to curb corruption and could not reduce it.
She further added, “Research shows highest levels of corruption have been committed by those at the top of the government, and no action has been taken against those who committed major corruption.”
Farid added that main victims of embezzlement were the people of Afghanistan and who worked with great difficulty and paid taxes but their money was embezzled.
“Unfortunately, this money is being embezzled and taken abroad but there has been no one to stop this”, she added.
What law says about embezzlement
Article 389, Chapter 2 of the Penal Code states that whenever a public service official or a non-governmental organization or a private institution or party is obliged to provide the benefit of the relevant administration in a contract or measurement or consolidation or acquisition of a customs product, tax or law of the relevant government or authority intentionally infringe or disrupt the rights of the relevant authority in favor of himself or another person. His act is known as embezzlement, the perpetrator will be punished according to the damage to the public interest in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The fourth clause of Article 391 of the Penal Code, which deals with the punishment of the public service in case of embezzlement, states that if the embezzled amount is more than one million to ten million Afghanis, he will be sentenced to a maximum of long imprisonment.
Ex-director of Afghan-Japan hospitalDr. Hakim Saleh, former director of the Afghan-Japan Hospital, told Pajhwok that all contracts, including medicines’, oxygen, medical equipment, food and etc had been signed by the MoPH.
The Afghanistan Islamic Medical Association of Afghanistan (AIMA), which was in charge of the Afghan-Japan Hospital in Kabul, said that the management team of the hospital had not been involved in contracting and purchasing process, but the medical equipment, medicines and health products had been provided by MoPH.
MoPH’s viewPajhwok repeatedly contacted MoPH spokesman Akmal Samsour to provide information but in five days Pajhwok received no response from him.
Questions related to this report were shared five times by Pajhwok reporters and once by deputy spokesperson of MoPH, but Akmal Samsour did not respond.
However, the MoPH spokesman yesterday asked Pajhwok to share documents in hand and the documents were shared with him, but he did not respond.