News
Waste galore at State Ministry of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals – COPA
By Saman Indrajith
State Ministry of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals has failed to follow the action plan for pharmaceutical procurement approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the First Report of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) reveals.The report was presented to Parliament on Friday by Prof. Tissa Vitarana.The COPA has also observed that the Ministry has failed to maintain the required temperature in the stores owned by the Medical Supplies Division and stored medical supplies in the corridors there as well as in hospitals.The COPA report says the Ministry has purchased certain drugs from the local market at a huge additional cost. Those purchases were made without estimates.
The Ministry has also issued substandard medical supplies to patients, and it does not have a system to find out if a drug has failed a quality test, the COPA says in its report.
“The Ministry also does not have a system to check samples of all the medicines purchased and there is also a propensity for supplies to expire,” the COPA has said, adding that the Ministry tends to purchase branded drugs. It has recommended that purchasing of drugs under trade names be regulated.
“Sri Lanka does not have facilities to check the quality of certain drugs. Therefore, it recommends that a mechanism for checking the quality of each drug be developed, and that the laboratories in the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority should be improved to meet the standards of the World Health Organization,” the COPA said.The COPA has also recommended that medicines should be ordered based on consumption rather than estimates, to minimise waste caused by expiry of drugs. “The Committee emphasised the serious health problems that can result from issuing medicines that have not been registered with the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, and recommended that this be rectified as soon as possible.”
NPP Parliamentarian Asoka Ranwala who was appointed the 22nd Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament, on 21st November has resigned from his position today [13], in the wake of the controversy surrounding his educational qualifications.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has officially appointed members to the Port City Economic Commission.
Accordingly Harsha Amarasekera, President’s Counsel, has been appointed as the Chairman while Damien Amal Cabraal, Mohan Ray Abeywardena, Sanjaya Kulatunga, and Dr. Harsha Subasinghe were appointed as members of the Port City Economic Commission
The official letters of appointment were handed over to the members by the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat today (13).
“We will not allow the trust the people have placed in us to be undermined in any way,” stated President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during a meeting with the heads of state media today (13).
He further emphasised, “Regardless of their status in government, if mistakes are made, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action.”
The President further explained:
“For more than seven decades, the people of this nation have built and dismantled various governments. For the first time, we stand with a profound understanding of the historic mandate entrusted to us and the National People’s Power on two occasions.
The people placed their faith in the National People’s Power (NPP) government, hoping for a standardised and stable country. We will not tarnish that extraordinary trust, even by the slightest misconduct.
Simply put, our government is not here to shield anyone who errs, for any reason. Be it within the broader framework of the country or within our administration, anyone found guilty of wrongdoing will face consequences. We will not hesitate to act decisively and at the right time. In essence, our government will not shield anyone who makes a mistake, regardless of the reason. Whether the mistake occurs within the country or at any level within our government, we will not hesitate to take decisive action. Every necessary step will be taken at the appropriate time without delay.”
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also reaffirmed his government’s unwavering commitment to upholding the trust placed in them by the people, who have endured decades of deception. He pledged to work tirelessly to build a better nation.
The Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, Director-General of Government Information, Harsha Bandara, and the heads of state media were present at the meeting.
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