The World Bank threatened to withdraw financial assistance to the HPNSDP and other programmes unless the health ministry took action
Twenty doctors holding mid-level management positions in the World Bank-funded health ministry programmes have been put on special duty after inquiries revealed they were involved with financial irregularities.
The doctors made officers on special duty (OSD) were deputy programme managers (DPM) in various operational plans of the Health Population Nutrition Sector Development Programme (HPNSDP).
MM Niazuddin, the health secretary, confirmed the OSD postings and said the resulting vacancies would be filled shortly.
Sources told the Dhaka Tribune that pressure from the World Bank caused the government to move against the corrupt officials.
The World Bank threatened to withdraw financial assistance to the HPNSDP and other programmes unless the health ministry took action, sources said.
But the health secretary denied the ministry had been pushed into the decision to place the doctors on OSD status, in a talk with the Dhaka Tribune yesterday afternoon. He admitted the World Bank had expressed concerns about the situation.
He said the decision was the result of an internal assessment by the health ministry and the Foreign Aided Project Audit Directorate (FAPAD). The inquiry and audit conducted by the two government bodies found the DPMs culpable, he told the Dhaka Tribune.
One of three line directors, who has asked to remain anonymous, told the Dhaka Tribune that DPMs don’t have the power to spend project money.
He said, as far as he was aware, the audit reports and inquiries found financial corruption and irregularities to the tune of Tk160 crore.
He asked this reporter how much of this money the DPMs had pocketed, adding that the highest level decision makers, including ministers, secretaries and directors general were involved in the graft.
Most of the newly appointed OSD doctors were originally posted with the recommendation of government-backed doctors’ leaders, sources said.
After being placed on OSD status, some ex-DPMs were said to be lobbying to be reappointed. Influential people, including ministers, secretaries, political leaders, members of parliament and doctors’ leaders were allegedly lobbying for them, sources said.
Six of the deputy programme managers were in the non-communicable disease (NCD) section, six were in the communicable disease control (CDC) section and eight had been in the national nutrition programme (NNP) section.
The 20 DPMs on OSD status are Dr AKM Zafarullah (NCD), Dr Md Mizanur Rahman (NCD), Dr Kohinur Begum (NCD), Dr Saidur Rahman (NCD), Dr Monir Ahmed (NCD), Dr Muhammed Abdur Rahim (NCD), Dr Ruseli Hoque (CDC), Dr Shahid M Sadikul Islam (CDC), Dr Benzir Ahmed (CDC), Dr Md Zahirul Karim (CDC), Dr Shah Golam Nabi (CDC), Dr Md Sabbir Haider (CDC), Dr Sara Khanom (NNP), Dr S M Mustafizur Rahman (NNP), Dr Mir Mubarok Hossain (NNP), Dr Nasrin Khanom (NNP), Dr Rubina Hoque (NNP), Dr Tapan Kumer Biswas (NNP), Dr Md Amir Hossain (NNP) and Dr Md Khalequzzaman (NNP).
Health ministry and health directorate sources said questionable programme expenditures by the operation plans were highlighted in an audit report by FAPAD in 2012.
Based on those findings, the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) carried out a special financial management review last year, finding strong indication of inappropriate procurement practices and fraudulent activities in the performance of procurement and financial management activities.
Inappropriate procurement practices were identified – including the procurement of items through the request for quotation method and acting beyond the scope of the procurement plan approved by the World Bank in November 2011.
Packages were also reportedly split to avoid competitive procedures, while bid documents revealed similar handwritten dates, spelling mistakes, fonts, styles, descriptions; bid prices were in arithmetical sequence; and similar handwriting was seen on the documents of the procuring entity and the vendors’ document.
The IDA review found that honorariums had been paid to line directors for several training programmes which they never attended, as well as finding evidence of forged signatures on the list of training participants who were said to have been given honorariums.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
