PAC summons Health Minister Dhakal over alleged corruption in medical equipment procurement

KATHMANDU, Dec 17: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under the federal parliament will hold a discussion with Minister for Health and Population, Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal on Friday over the alleged corruption in course of procuring medical equipment for containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bharat Kumar Shah, president of the PAC, said that Minister Dhakal has been invited to a meeting of the committee slated for  1 pm on Friday.

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Although PAC had decided to invite Minister Dhakal four months ago, the minister had been refusing to participate in the committee meeting. The meeting was scheduled after Minister Dhakal agreed to attend the meeting lately, according to PAC president Shah.  

Earlier, the committee had invited the then secretaries at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) and then chiefs of the Department of Health Service over the alleged corruption in the procurement of medical equipment for containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April this year, amid widespread criticism, the MoHP scrapped a controversial procurement deal that it had signed with the Omni Group for supplying essential medical equipment needed for containing the spread of COVID-19 in Nepal.