Police to probe health inquiry findings
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
A POLICE team is being set up to investigate the corruption allegations made during the recent Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the procurement, supply and distribution of medicine, it has been revealed.
Acting Police Comm David Manning yesterday confirmed receiving a letter from Health and HIV/AIDS Minister Jelta Wong requesting investigation into allegations made at the inquiry.
Manning: There is an understanding between police and the Public Accounts Committee to investigate matters of national interest.
“We are now ready to conduct criminal investigation into allegations of bribery and of the awarding of contracts to companies to deliver medicine to health centres,” he said.
“There is an understanding between the (police) and the Public Accounts Committee to (investigate) matters of national interest.”
The police team is expected to be made up of detectives from the fraud and anti-corruption unit.
Manning said the allegations were made at the inquiry which was a formal parliamentary process, and extensively covered by the media.
The focus will be on the awarding of contracts and the payments made.
“We stand ready to assist the (committee) to further investigate (what had been uncovered),” he said.
He welcomed the role of the committee led by Sir John Pundari and Gary Juffa in holding people accountable in the management of public funds.
East Sepik Governor Allan Bird, who also praised the work of the committee, had pushed Wong in Parliament on Tuesday to do something about the allegations made about the procurement, supply and distribution of medicine.
Wong replied that he had written to Manning for an investigation to be conducted. He said he had received a list of companies and officers implicated in the deals.
He will release the list to police after getting legal advice from State lawyers.
Wong said that “it’s up to the acting COP (Manning) now to get the fraud squad to start investigating these officers”.
“Health is about life and for the last couple of years, it has been compromised (by some) to make money,” he said.
The committee has ended its sittings this year and will resume early in the New Year.
6 comments
Manning, do not left one stone behind next or hide any Tom, Dick and Harry involved. Punish them and lock them behind the bar. If Manning you were like Garry Baki, then I know no one could go to Bomana, all would be lucky to escape on back door. Punish them so that they can harvest what they’ve planted during their terms in the office. Health minister, terminate those staff involved in.
No way to hide now, truth has been revealed and the culprits will be scrambling for cover. Strip them of their title, their values, their character and from their family as well. Satan holim fork stap lo pokim backside blo ol.
Suffering the whole nation from getting a chance for better medical treatment is a nightmare….That’s not humanity, these particular companies and people involved were actually dealing with people’s lives. So how on earth will you try to suffer your very own people by letting that “MONEY” control your decisions ….You know we live on this earth once and for all, so as long as you’re a leader in a particular area, please make best wiser decisions that will benefit all of us or even your very own family and you will be blessed.
And when you get old…you will smile for what you done and the best outcome of it.
Innocent lives have been lost due to shortages of medicines or undelivered medicines. Preventable deaths caused by corruption and greed.
Time for named people to pay with their lives. An eye for an eye!
Can the same inquiry be done with the department of education with regards to TFF and Teachers salaries discrpencies
Can the same inquiry be made with the Department of Works & Implementation? During Peter O’Neil’s Government, huge slice of the budget were for Road works throughout the country. The Department of Works seems to be an Ela Motors car sales yard or something, all flashy and top of the range vehicles only!!! Is this happening in all the Departments of the Government? Have production been equated to such allocation?
Why duplicating several functions in the Works? High Impact Project Office is duplicated functions. What does works do? what does Transport department do? What does NRA do? ALL DUPLICATES. PM Marape, you need to clean up all this duplicates!
But first inquire into the billions of kina spent on roads especially under Peter O’Neil and David Wereh’s regime.
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