PAC wants King Faisal losses probed

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) has called for an investigation into massive losses incurred by King Faisal Hospital Rwanda resulting from bulk purchase of medicine and equipment amounting to Rwf2 billion.Details gleaned from the Auditor General’s 2011/12 report reveals that the hospital purchased an assortment of drugs in bulk that later expired from the stores.The report cited the mismanagement of public funds within the hospital.PAC argues that such an error demonstrated “carelessness.”Minister ‘frustrated’Appearing before PAC, yesterday, the Minister for Health, Dr Agnes Binagwaho, expressed frustration over the said mismanagement and divulged details of how the hospital incurred the losses.“In 2009, I learnt about a purchase of medicine and equipment by King Faisal Hospital amounting to Rwf2 billion,” Dr Binagwaho said.“Among what was bought included five million gloves. Up to now I have failed to understand how someone can make such an order… some of the medicine that was purchased expired later, resulting into a loss of Rwf70 million. This is totally unacceptable, I asked Police and the prosecution to investigate how King Faisal Hospital could make such a mistake and got no response up to now,” the minister added.Dr Binagwaho said the hospital had also rented several stores around town to store the drugs without the knowledge of the ministry.The ministry, she said, learned about the crisis when the hospital approached them requesting for help in selling off the drugs and equipment to other hospitals.In an attempt to save the situation, government engaged Camerwa, the former national drug stores, to take over the medicine and sell them off to other hospitals.No hospital was interested in the consignment, the minister said.“The medicine expired, the materials bought are still kept in containers, there is no plan for this and yet the hospital is still paying the supplier,” she said.“The people responsible for the losses are out there living a better life than me… something should be done, people need to own up to their mistakes. When it comes to financial issues, there is a perception problem among the medical practitioners, they think money issues is not their concern and end up spending recklessly.” PAC chairperson Juvenal Nkusi said investigations should be conducted to establish how the tendering process was conducted and why the hospital ordered such bulk medicine and equipment. “The consequences of this loss are cross cutting which affect the performance of the entire health systems starting from the hospital to the patients, whoever is responsible shouldn’t walk away with it,” he said.Nkusi’s deputy, Theoneste Karenzi, requested the Auditor General to conduct a value for money audit of which he would give a copy of his findings to PAC.The hospital director-gneral, Dr Emile Rwamasirabo, however, told the MPs that the purchase was not conducted in a single tender and that it was an accumulation of medicine in the stores.“We are going to push for detailed investigations into this and disclose all the information regarding responsibility and losses. We now order for medicine and equipment we need to use in the course of three months only,” he said.

National

PAC wants King Faisal losses probed