KARACHI – In addition to receiving hefty salaries, perks and privileges, senior officers in the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) are being reimbursed heavy medical bills almost every month without the mandatory doctor’s prescription, causing annual losses worth millions of rupees to the national exchequer, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The chairman, director generals and those who are appointed on deputation are entitled medical treatment on the basis of terms and conditions approved by the competent authority or as per the medical policy.
According to the PQA’s medical policy, a doctor’s prescription is mandatory for medical reimbursement of bills to purchase medicines. Chronic patients are required to appear before the PQA medical board and declare themselves as a chronic patient.
However, PQA officers are getting their bills reimbursed without providing a medical prescription or details of the chemist, medicines purchased and their quantity.
The PQA’s medical section is also involved in certifying medical bills for purchasing medicines without a doctor’s prescription, and this corrupted practice by PQA officials has incurred losses of millions of rupees to the exchequer, which is already facing a financial crunch.
Under the PQA medical policy, there is no exemption as regards providing a doctor’s prescription, and it is mandatory for reimbursement of medical bills that need to be submitted to the department concerned with necessary details for further approval.
The PQA’s Management Accounts Department has time and again asked the administration division for providing doctors’ prescriptions for reimbursement of medical bills; however, the PQA has not implemented any rules for verifying medical details before reimbursement.
In late 2009, Finance Director General (DG) Jamil Khawar mentioned in his medical reimbursement documents that he himself had diagnosed his disease and purchased medicines from a local chemist. According to official documents, DG Khawar was reimbursed medical bills worth Rs 453,511 between July 2009 and February 2010 on the basis of, as per the sources’ claims, fake bills.
He was reimbursed Rs 41,214 on July 22, 2009; Rs 38,770 on July 30, 2009; Rs 24,519 on August 19, 2009; Rs 51,112 on September 16, 2009; Rs 20,708 on October 5, 2009; Rs 34,022 on October 15, 2009; Rs 34,125 on October 21, 2009; Rs 6,000 on October 29, 2009; Rs 5,673 on November 2, 2009; Rs 47,947 on November 13, 2009; Rs 38,600 on December 9, 2009; Rs 56,943 on January 6, 2010; Rs 9,170 on January 27, 2010; and Rs 44,708 on February 10, 2010.
Administration DG Shujaat Abbas was reimbursed medical bills worth Rs 106,562 (Rs 6,709 on September 1, 2009; Rs 98,378 on September 8, 2009; and Rs 1,475 on January 12, 2010) through loose vouchers. The medial reimbursement of bills through loose vouchers in the PQA is still being carried out without any check and balance by the Ports and Shipping Ministry.
