The Island
President of the All Ceylon Health Services Union (ACHSU), Gamini Kumarasinghe has accused the Health Ministry of turning a blind eye to the Auditor-General’s report on alleged misappropriation of funds at State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation (SPMC).
Kumarasinghe alleged that corporation’s Chairman, M. A. P. Hemachandra, had used Rs. 22.5 million from the SPMC account to support political campaigns. The Auditor-General investigated the case and sent his report to the Health Ministry. But the ministry has so far not taken any action against the chairman, Kumarasinghe said.
He claimed that the charge was made during the first six months of last year and the Health Ministry had turned a blind eye to the report of the Auditor-General.
The ACHSU had documentary evidence that SPMC Chairman had taken Rs. 22.5 million from the SPMC account and had spent it on various political campaigns, while providing funds to contributors.
According to the Auditor-General, it was illegal to keep such people as chairmen. It was common procedure that the board of directors should approve such use of funds.
Kumarasinghe said the SPMC had also exported 45 kinds of medicines to various countries recently instead of selling them to local markets. The SPMC was solely responsible for supplying various kinds of medicine to local market, but it had flouted the normal procedure.
Another allegation was that SPMC illegally recruited around 100 people last year though the SPMC cadre did not concur with the strength. In other words, the corporation had recruited more people than the required cadre.
The SPMC chairman rejected the union’s allegations.
The SPMC chairman said he had not misappropriated a single cent from the SPMC account for political campaigns or any other purpose.
He said the union had concocted a story to bring a discredit to his position. They ought not to have done such allegations against him, he added.
Referring to the other allegations, chairman Hemachandra said corporation had manufactured 45 kinds of medicines for JICA and it was JICA that had exported them to various countries. The SPMC had earned a great deal of foreign exchange from these exports. Several people were recruited last year in accordance with the corporation’s recruitment policy, he pointed out.
Hemachndra said the recruitment was based on improving the production and quality of drugs as the SPMC drugs had been in demand.
The recruitment policy of the corporation had been changed to suit to the present-day requirements and ACHSU had no right to pinpoint such matters.