Zero-tolerance to curb corruption in health sector: ACC Chairman

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmood has said the commission is maintaining a zero-tolerance policy to curb corruption in the health sector.

He on Friday said this while receiving the report on various legal actions taken by the commission on different allegations.

In the last three months, the commission filed 23 cases on various charges including relief corruption, embezzlement of food items from government food warehouses and illegal acquisition of assets outside of known income, according to the report.

The graft body chairman said they were active against the health sector's corruption even before the coronavirus outbreak grappled the country.

The commission formed an institutional team in 2017 to prevent corruption in the health sector.

At the beginning of 2019, a report containing 11 sources of corruption and 25 specific recommendations to control the corruption of the sector was handed over to the health minister and secretary.

If this full report had been implemented, it would have been possible to curb corruption in the health sector, he added.

Besides, 11 cases were filed by the commission alleging corruption in the procurement of medical supplies in different hospitals including Dhaka, Satkhira, Rangpur, Chattogram and Faridpur.

The Ministry of Health blacklisted 14 contractors involved in these 11 cases following the ACC recommendations.


Dhaka/M A Rahman/AKA