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Shortages: Auditor General’s report sheds light on many ills in health sector

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/14

By Saman Indrajith

The expenditure on medical supplies in the first quarter of 2022 was only Rs. 12.4 billion, a sharp drop from 2020 and 2021, the Auditor General’s Special Report on Procedures taken to avoid the Shortage of Pharmaceuticals in government hospitals by 13 May 2022, has revealed.

The amounts spent on medical supplies during the year 2020 and year 2021 were Rs. 83.5 billion and Rs. 73.6 billion respectively.

The actual quarterly average expenses on medical supplies in 2020 and 2021 were Rs. 20.8 billion and Rs. 18.4 billion respectively, the report has said.

The number of pharmaceutical items used in hospitals as Vital, Essential and Non-essential is 1,146; the number of surgical items is 8,648; the number of laboratory items is 3,900 and the number of the X-ray items is 44.

By 13 May, the number of Vital and Essential drugs out of stock in the Medical Supplies Division and hospitals was 190 and 51 respectively. Besides, 2,724 and 2,156 Vital and Essential surgical items were out of stock in the Medical Supplies Division and hospitals respectively at that time.

The number laboratory items and X-ray items out of stock in the Medical Supplies Division and hospitals was 850 and 18 respectively.The report says the future annual requirement is estimated by the respective hospital authorities based on the consumption and the remaining stocks, and sent to the Medical Supplies Division 13 months prior to the month in which the supply is required.

In the process of procuring medical supplies, the Medical Supplies Division has to send orders to the State Pharmaceutical Corporation for the procurement of estimated items with a supply period of 11 months.

The report has stated that the National Drug Quality Assurance Laboratory was established under the National Medicine Regulatory Authority to assist in the process of verifying the standards of procured medical supplies. Cabinet approval was given, on 15 October 2009, for the five-year Development Plan from 2010 to 2015, which was prepared at a cost of Rs. 410 million to develop the infrastructure and human resources of the National Pharmaceutical Quality Control Laboratory with a view to increasing the number of laboratory tests to check the quality of medical supplies.

According to the Manual on Management of Drugs, pharmaceuticals should be stored in well-ventilated spaces at specified temperatures. The Medical Supplies Division should maintain a secure stock for three months, and in addition to regular checks by a staff officer, sample testing should be done for the confirmation of the accuracy of drug storage and accounting.

The Auditor General’s report has said a number of other factors have contributed to shortages––poorly maintained computer system, lack of proper coordination and coordination between the Medical Supplies Division, the Ministry of Health, the State Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sri Lanka and the State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation of Sri Lanka, lack of regular monitoring, and progress of orders issued to the State Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sri Lanka and noncompliance with the procurement schedule.

The AG has found that the Medical Supplies Division submitted lists of orders for the respective year to the State Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sri Lanka through MSMIS or PRONTO computer system with a lead time of 11 months, but the corporation had not immediately commenced procurement process for those orders and the procurement was delayed until written copies of the order list were received by the corporation.

It took more than 18 days to send the written copies of the orders to the Import Division of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation, and since procurement had only begun thereafter, part of the supply period of 11 months had elapsed. Pharmacists and senior officials in the Medical Supplies Division placed the order through the computer system, but there had been a delay in sending written documents., the Auditor General has said.

Although 41 orders out of 90 for eight vital items and essential items were issued by the computer system to the State Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sri Lanka in the first two months of the year, it had taken between 18 days and six months for the Import Division of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation to receive the written copies of the order lists, the report found.

This shows that there is a lack of coordination among the Medical Supplies Division, Ministry of Health, State Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sri Lanka and State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation, which are mainly involved in the management of medical supplies, the Auditor General has observed in his report.

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Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation

Published

12 hours ago

2026/09/14

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.

The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.

Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.

Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.

News

CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process

Published

14 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.

Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.

The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.

Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.

Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.

Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.

The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.

Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.

The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.

The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.

SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.

Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.

The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.

News

GMOA: Countrywide cadre revision not done since 2015

Published

14 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

Dhammika

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.

GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.

Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.

(SF)