By: Sahid Bangura

Following the Auditor General’s eminent commitment in surfacing the dubious activities that are enshrined in all the organizations/institutions, the Service implicated Connaught, Ola During, Rokupa, Lakka, King Harman Road and the Princess Christian Maternal Hospital of storing a huge Stockpile of expired drugs and delivering poor health services. “We conducted an inspection tour of the six hospital stores and a huge stockpile of expired drugs.”

According to the report, the objectives of people going to hospitals and having the required treatments could not be met, as a result, the service advised the health managements that lives could be at lost if immediate action were not taken to address the issues highlighted.

Among the reports of poor services in the six selected hospitals, the service reported that there were ineffective ambulance services in those hospitals. Reportedly, “We observed that there was no ambulance at the King Harman Road Maternal and Child Health Hospital and the Rokupa Government Hospital.”

The report also revealed that two of the ambulances at the Connaught Hospital are not fitted with the required equipment for the swift flow of services, and “The ambulance at the Lakka Government Hospital had an odometer reading of 28,686 km, and a malfunctioning air conditioning system. We further observed that one of the ambulances at the Princess Christian Maternal Hospital was used as a utility vehicle, due to the poor condition of the hospital’s utility vehicle.

Thus, even though it was reported that the store records were properly managed, but the Audit Service was unable to unearth the utilization of supplied drugs for the period of review because, the hospitals did not provide enough records for drugs received, distributed, and or returned.

The service, which reported that menace in the selected hospitals were unresolved, called the attention of the Chief Medical Officer and the Medical Superintendents/Hospital Care Manager to ensure that the hospitals are fully capacitated for effective used.

The selected poor healthcare facilities and other healthcare facilities were also discovered of not paying withstanding and PAYE taxes. According to the report management, “of the unpaid statutory deductions of SLE 3,018,461.87, payment records for withholding taxes totalling SLE156,315.28 representing 5% of the required amount were submitted and verified, leaving SLE2,862,146.59. The issue remains unresolved.”

In response to the Audit Service in regards with the payment of withholding and PAYE taxes, the Management of Connaught Government Hospital noted that “taxes are normally deducted from individual payments with the understanding that they will be aggregated at the end of the month and pay to the NRA.” The management continued that, many a time, they found difficult to make the required payments to NRA because, they do not have a Taxpayer Identification Number.

The management went forward to claim that their facility is often faced with emergencies, which leaves them with no other option but to utilize the funds to save lives with the hope to make the required payments later when the funds and the TIN are made available. “The Hospital Care Manager further provided a payment plan of how they intend to pay the accrued withholding taxes which starts on the 15th July, 2023 and ends on 6th July, 2024.”

The Managements of the Lakka Government Hospital and the King Harman Road Maternal and Child Health Hospital, respond that “They have filled the Taxpayers Identification Number form online and the accountant has been following up with the NRA in order for the hospital to get a registration form,” and “The hospital has secured a TIN and have started the process of payment of all withholding taxes,” respectively.

The Management of the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital, in their efforts of requesting for a TIN, responded that they have sent a letter to the Commissioner of Domestic Tax Department at the NRA through their Permanent Secretary, and that they were waiting on the response of the NRA, so as to start making the required payments.