Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday that whenever he made any effort to eliminate fraud, corruption, malpractices and irregularities in the Health Ministry, those who were involved in such practices became hostile towards him. “In other words they became venomous serpents like cobras and vipers,” he said.
The Minister told ‘The Island’ that during the last three years he was thinking of eliminating large-scale fraud, corruption and theft from the Ministry by taking stringent measures against unscrupulous managers, clerical staff and other for which he was detested by them. The abuse of State property and large-scale corruption in the Ministry were rampant.
Minister Sirisena said that there were around 104 trade unions in the Ministry, but only ten were very active. He did not have the instinct to nab wrong-doers. It was the bounden duty of the active trade unions to eliminate fraud, corruption, and theft in the Ministry. By and large trade unions were there to win their legitimate rights, but they also had a responsibility to protect the Ministry from any force which was trying to sabotage the existence of the Ministry.
Many officials were penalised for flagrant violation of tender procedures and other serious irregularities. In the future too he would never hesitate to take appropriate action against any official who was found to be doing wrong, he said.
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