By Amer Malik
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
LAHORE
SourceThe Punjab Health Department has found serious irregularities - including awarding of contract of the project to an NGO without following the laid down procedure and lack of transparency in financial affairs - in the implementation of a Punjab AIDS Control Program (PACP) project aiming at preventing transmission of HIV/AIDS among street-based Injection Drug Users (IDUs).
The Health Department issued a charge-sheet here on Monday, following what it called a ëmalicious media campaigní by certain elements with vested interest that a Rs. 965 million contract with an NGO for service delivery to street based Injecting Drug Users was terminated on confidentiality issues and without any plan for substitute services.
The PACP, under its newly-appointed project director, submitted a report, available with The News, vis-‡-vis irregularities in the project to the Health Department. Under the second phase of the project implementation (2009-13), a total amount of Rs. 965.55 million was allocated for the five-year service delivery package for street-based IDUs in selected cities of the province. The contract of service delivery package for IDUs was signed with an NGO, M/S Nai Zindagi, on April 1, 2009.
In order to give excessive favor to the NGO, the contract was vetted neither by the Law Department nor the Finance Department. It paved the way for the NGO to loot and plunder, given there was no accountability process. The costs of services and products were extremely high and no evaluation was done on the claimed costs.
A mobilization advance of 10 per cent of the total allocation, Rs. 96.555 million, was released on April 27, 2009, to the NGO. According to Clause 2.3 of Special Conditions of the contract, the commitment for funds was initially provided for one year - from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. Only two per cent, not 10 percent, of the total allocation (Rs.19.30 million) should have been paid as the mobilization advance for one year, but an amount of additional Rs. 77.25 million was paid to the NGO.
As per contract agreement, payment was to be made to the NGO after every six months in installments, upon satisfactory completion of services. The first installment of Rs. 86.8995 million was released on October 23, 2009. Regarding the second installment, the Withdrawal Application (WA) for Rs. 81.68553 was submitted by PACP on April 6. The payment invoice for services rendered till March 31 was submitted by the NGO on March 14. It was supposed to be submitted after satisfactory completion of services up to March 31, 2010. The transfer order of the former project director had been issued on April 6. The forwarding letter for the release of payment was issued by him on April 7 on the date he handed over the charge.
The former PACP projector director issued Withdrawal Application for Rs. 42 million from the World Bank loan, although DFID grant of about Rs.109 million was still available with the PACP on the day. Thus, adequate funds under DFID grant were available to make full payment of second installment and there was no need to make payment from credit. The project activities of the NGO had to be monitored and verified by the technical staff of the PACP. The monitoring reports were apparently prepared without any proper field visit, in-depth scrutiny of record and verification of the identity of the IDUs. The final monitoring was carried out 17 days before the completion of period of service delivery package, the dates were tampered and the monitoring team did not bother to even put any date under their signatures.
Once these irregularities were brought to the notice of the Health secretary, the payment was put on hold until proper verification and scrutiny.
The Health Department constituted a committee on May 10 to verify the actual delivery of services to the street based Injecting Drug Users. The NGO was informed accordingly. However, when the committee visited NGOís Programme Implementation Unit, Sialkot on May 17, the staff of the NGO refused to provide access to any record. The NGO was unjustified to deny access to any record because, under General Conditions Clause No.3.7 (a) all the reports, documents and software are the property of the client. The aim of the verification exercise was to validate actual delivery of services to the IDUs and not to confirm the identities of the IDUs. In this regard, the NGO tried to exploit the issue of confidentiality.
This is being done with a view to shift the focus from the fact that they have no record of provision of services, human resource claimed to be at their rolls for service delivery or even procurements.
During the course of implementation of harm reduction services as per contract, the NGO was obliged to collect used/contaminated syringes in exchange of new/sterile supplies from IDUs in the community on one for one exchange. The NGO was not able to provide details of quantity and sources of procurement of syringes. They were also required to incinerate these infected/used syringes properly in order to avoid reuse or recycle of used syringes and to furnish all relevant verifiable record of syringe disposal and incineration in Lahore and Faisalabad at the designated incinerators of tertiary care hospitals. However, this information was also not provided.
The Clause 2.6.1 (e) allows the client to terminate the contract on sole discretion. Thus, in exercise of powers vested under Clause 2.6.1 (e) of the contract, the contract was terminated on May 6. The contract was terminated on the issues of transparency and refusal by the NGO to cooperate in the process of verification of actual delivery of services.
However, in order to cover its shortcomings, the NGO has initiated a campaign in the print and electronic media that the issue of confidentiality was the reason behind the termination of the contract. Before the termination of the contract, all efforts were made to engage purposefully with the NGO but to no avail.
The Health Department has planned to conduct a special internal audit of the PACP. A probe into the transparency of process of award of the contract to the NGO and the monitoring system of PACP shall also be conducted.
The department has already directed the ex-project director to explain his position regarding a number of irregularities.
The NGO served a legal notice to the projector director of the PACP on May 24. Later, Syed Ali Zafar asked the PACP PD to concur to appointment of an arbitrator within a week of the receipt of the letter failing which Justice (retd) Khalil-ur-Rehman Khan would enter upon the reference as a sole arbitrator.
The department had no other option under the law but to respond to the notice. Thus, in order to comply with the requirement of the Arbitration Act 1940, it nominated Justice (retd) Sayed Najam ul Hassan Kazmi as the arbitrator.
It was also mentioned that certain elements with vested interest had initiated a propaganda campaign that the contract with NGO was terminated without any plan for substitute services. It is clarified that a Working Group was constituted to prepare a comprehensive short-term and mid-term action plan for AIDS response in Punjab. The Working Group comprised Project Director, Punjab AIDS Control Program, Lahore, Dr. Tahir Manzoor, Health & Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Punjab, Dr. Nasir Sarfraz, Program Officer, UNAIDS, Dr. Babar Alam, WHO Operation Officer, Dr. Naeem Hassan Saleem, Surveillance Officer CIDA Punjab, Dr. Nooruzaman Rafique, Community Support Concern (NGO), Imran Zali, Delta Foundation and Asghar Saeed Mirza, Program Manager, Punjab AIDS Consortium.
The Group has already completed the task of mapping of all the NGOs working in different areas along with their funding. The issue of continuation of harm reduction services for IDUs has been taken up in the action plan. The Group is preparing a comprehensive proposal so that the service delivery package for IDUs could continue, at a reasonable cost. The detailed expenditure is being incorporated in the action plan. In this regard, NGOs with experience of working for the IDUs are also being involved.