During this unprecedented time, the risk of embezzlement of public fund directed to procuring medical equipments and improving safety of people rises significantly thus degrading the health service and eventually loosing countless lives. From cases occurring in other countries, it's evident that products with low quality or higher than market price were being procured during the pandemic.
Bearing in mind that the corruption risk is higher during this difficult time, IAAC issued the following recommendations to the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government:
- Increase supervision, transparency, competition, efficiency of the direct procurement of the medical supplies;
- Pay special attention to standards, safety and quality of procured medical items;
- Endure transparency of award mechanism and criteria for subsidies to be provided to the private companies to ease their financial burden;
- Avoid risk of promoting medical products by a public official which are supplied by a company that is connected to that official
- Prevent and monitor undue influence on the officials who are in charge of implementing quarantine measures in his/her jurisdiction or territory;
- Protect reporting person who informed the relevant authorities on misconduct committed by the official and promote whistleblowing;
- Ensure the adherence of provision on reporting conflict of interest among public officials in charge of direct procurement and contract of medical supplies.
