Health Minister Abdullah Ameen has stepped aside from his post amid public uproar after the compliance audit report on COVID-19 response expenditures of the Health Ministry by the Auditor General’s Office revealed significant irregularities.
In his letter to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Minister Ameen said he would step aside from his responsibilities as Health Minister until relevant authorities further investigate the discrepancies highlighted in the report or until President Solih notifies him of the further action to be taken.
The compliance audit report highlighted significant irregularities in the procurement of ventilators. It revealed a total of MVR 30.9 million had been in advance to Executor General Trading (Dubai) for procurement of 75 ventilators and that to date no ventilator has been delivered to the country.
In the report, the Audit Office said that it found that the party has been selected to procure ventilators without assessing its financial and technical capabilities.
The Auditor-General recommended relevant authorities to investigate the bidding and awarding of procurement of Ventilators from local parties, in view of lack of fair and competitive bidding.
