Committee cancels visit to Lae

BY REBECCA KUKU
THE Public Accounts Committee cancelled its site visitation to Lae today as part of the inquiry into the Health Department’s procurement, supply and distribution system due to funding issues.
Chairman Sir John Pundari told The National last night that they were all ready and set to travel but “the plague of public finances has come back to haunt us”.
“We didn’t ask for much and are not at all amused that only this year K5 million was thrown at a Commission of Inquiry into the UBS loan saga that has amounted to nothing. What we asked for was much less than that,” he said.
Sir John said the PAC “felt that it was necessary and important to see firsthand the challenges faced by the rural aid posts and facilities.
“It has come to light in our inquiry that no proper monitoring and evaluation has been conducted by the Health Department.
“We needed to see for ourselves if the 100 per cent kits and other drugs, including lifesaving drugs through different schemes and practices of procurement and delivery by the Health Department, were sufficiently and effectively made available to our people in a timely manner and contain what is needed by health facilities,” Sir John said.
“What are the disease patterns and how best can medicine levels be monitored and communicated?
“How is distribution being managed and tracked? What are the realities being faced?
“These are some of the many vital questions that need to be answered.”
Sir John said that one major reason they had failed the people was the failure to identify the “actual challenges and needs”. “A select few are sitting in Waigani making decisions with no consideration for the realities being faced by our people,” he said.
However, Sir John said that the PAC would not be discouraged by the setback.
“I promise the people that this committee will stay the course. We have already collected a great deal of information and evidences and with the help of concerned health workers and health specialists, we are already compiling our preliminary report.
“We ask the public to continue to supply us valuable information.
“Those failures identified, especially in the medicine supply chain and monitoring system identified in the current health system, will be improved and that is our mission,” he said.
Sir John also called on the people for their patience and understanding and asked that they respect the process.
“We have started a long and uphill fight to ‘Take Back PNG’ and there will be many more challenges and disappointments ahead. But with a steadfast and unwavering resolve, we will claim victory.”