by Nirmala Kannangara
The Ministry of Health is yet to take disciplinary action against Provincial Director Health Services, Central Province, for allegedly misleading the Public Service Commission (PSC) for personal gain despite the latter’s continuous requests to the Health Ministry to conduct an inquiry.Provincial Director Health Services, Central Province, Dr. K. M. Shanthilatha Fathima Samarasinghe is alleged to have misled the PSC deliberately on two occasions. In 2005 Dr. Samarasinghe submitted false information in order to receive a promotion and in 2007 she did the same to avoid a transfer from her present post.
In April 2005, whilst serving as the Acting Provincial Director Health Services, Central Province, Dr. Samarasinghe had submitted counterfeit qualifications to the PSC to obtain marks at the interview for the post of Medical Superintendent of the Base Hospital in Matale. She obtained two extra marks at the interview depriving the eligible candidate Dr. Mrs. M. D. L. Perera. Dr. Samarasinghe was appointed Medical Superintendent, Base Hospital Matale on June one, 2005. However when it was later discovered that Dr. Samarasinghe had submitted inaccurate details, the Additional Secretary PSC through a letter dated November ten, 2005 instructed the then Secretary, Ministry of Health to hold an inquiry and to reprimand Dr. Samarasinghe for misleading the PSC. The PSC also instructed the Health Secretary to submit to the Commission a copy of the warning letter issued to Dr. Samarasinghe.
Since it was the Health Secretary who had recommended Dr. Samarasinghe for the promotion, whether knowingly or not that false qualifications had been submitted, Additional Secretary PSC, D. H. S. Pulleperuma instructed the Health Secretary to redress the matter and ensure that justice was done to the candidate deprived of the promotion. Although such instructions were issued to the then Health Secretary, he had allegedly failed to issue a warning to Dr. Samarasinghe.
It is in this backdrop that Dr. Samarasinghe once again misled the PSC in 2012 to get an extension in her present post – Provincial Director Health Services, Central Province. On December one, 2007 the then Governor Central Province, Tikiri Kobbekaduwa appointed Dr. Samarasinghe as the Provincial Director, Health Services, Central Province, with immediate effect requesting the latter to report to him after taking over the post through the Provincial Health Secretary of the Central Province and the Chief Secretary.
In a letter dated December five, 2007 Dr. Samarasinghe (Ref. No: CPC/ PDHS/ ICC/ 20/ 124/2007) informed the Provincial Health Secretary that she had assumed duties in the new post. Meanwhile Provincial Health Secretary Vijitha Bandara Ekanayake wrote to the Chief Secretary on December ten, 2007 to confirm that Dr. Samarasinghe had assumed duties in her post on December five, 2007.
Despite all this, when Health Secretary Dr. Ravindra Ruberu sent a letter to Dr. Samarasinghe releasing her from the duties of the post of Director Health Services, Central Province, to take up duties as Director Health Services, North Central Province from June 2, 2012, Dr. Samarasinghe had once again misled the PSC stating that she had one more year to serve in the Central Province as her appointment was made on December 31, 2007.
Five years
“Generally an officer is allowed to serve in one place for five years before being transferred to another place of work. It was on December one, 2007 that Dr. Samarasinghe was appointed as Director Health Services, Central Province which she had confirmed in her letter to the Provincial Health Secretary. Despite all these official letters, with no fear of repercussions, Dr. Samarasinghe wrote to the PSC that Governor Central Province appointed her to the post on December 31, 2007 and that she assumed duties on January 1, 2008,” an official at the Provincial Health Ministry said on condition of anonymity.
The source further alleged that Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa too was involved in this fraud and that Kobbekaduwa had issued yet another official letter on one of his official letterheads appointing Dr. Samarasinghe to the post of Director Health Services, Central Province, on December 31, 2007.
“Despite issuing an appointment letter on December 1, 2007, Governor Kobbekaduwa once again issued another letter appointing Dr. Samarasinghe to the same post for the second time on December 31. When this letter was submitted to the PSC for the purpose of an extension for another year, the PSC wrote back stating that her appointment had been made on December 1, 2007 and that the Commission calculates her five year service from 2007 which ends at the end of 2011,” sources claimed.
The PSC once again wrote to the Health Secretary in November 2012 instructing them to hold an inquiry against Dr. Samarasinghe for violating clause 241 of the Public Service Commission as she had sent an appeal to the Commission Secretary requesting to withhold her transfer. The letter further states, “The PSC has decided to instruct you to hold an inquiry against Dr. Samarasinghe for violating clause 241 of the PSC Act by writing directly to the Commission. Please send the inquiry report to this Commission for perusal within one month.”
Clause 241 of the PSC states, ‘Except otherwise, provided for in these procedural rules the public officers shall correspond with the Commission only through the Head of Institution, Head of Department and the Secretary to the Ministry.’
Later Dr. Samarasinghe filed a Fundamental Rights Application in the Supreme Court seeking a stay order challenging her transfer, claiming that the Governor is her appointing authority.
“How could Dr. Samarasinghe tell the courts that the Governor is her appointing authority when former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in an extraordinary gazette notification No: 1110/10 of December 15, 1999 stated, ‘By virture of the powers vested in me by Article 154T of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, I, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, President, do by this Order declare the Government Medical Service consisting of Specialists, Non-specialists and Medical Administrators to be an All Island Service.’ When there is a gazette notification that the medical service is an all-island service, how could Dr. Samarasinghe claim that her appointing authority is the Governor and not the line ministry? As a result of Dr. Samarasinghe’s stance that the Health Ministry cannot transfer her as she has been appointed and comes under the Central Provincial Council, the Government Medical Officer’s Association (GMOA) sent a memorandum on 2012 to all its members asking that they refrain from having any official engagements with her.
The statement read, “According to annual transfer order of Medical Administrators 2012, Dr Shanthi Samarasinghe who had been serving in the post of the Provincial Director of Health Services of Central Province has been transferred to North Central Province as the Provincial Director of the Health Services there. Challenging this transfer order she has filed a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court and an interim order had been granted staying her transfer order.
“In the Supreme Court she has alleged that the Governor is her appointing authority. This will cause a negative impact on Doctors all island service which has been achieved after a heavy struggle in the past. Despite attempts made by branch unions, executive committee and administrative sub-committee of GMOA to emphasise the gravity of this issue she has decided not to change her position. Therefore the GMOA made a decision to intervene in this court case as an interested party in order to safeguard our All Island Service and it is estimated that the expenditure for this process will exceed two million rupees which will be spent from the subscription of membership. We are compelled to bear this burden in order to maintain this as an all island service which is in the vital interests of all our members.
Accused of misappropriation
“We also call on all our members of GMOA to refrain from any official engagement with Dr. Shanthi Samarasinghe until this issue is resolved”.
Be that as it may, Dr. Samarasinghe is further accused of misappropriation of state funds running into millions of rupees but so far no action has been taken against her.
According to a government audit query dated June seven, 2013, Rs. 6.053 million had been spent on painting medical equipment (Iron beds, trolleys etc) for the period of 2011 and 2012 when the engineering estimate was Rs. 1.407 million. “The contract had been given to three garages that repair Health Ministry vehicles and without considering whether the entire item needed to be painted or only a part, all items were painted,” the source claimed.
Dr. Samarasinghe is also accused of spending Rs. 2.015 million to purchase a 78 length measuring board at a cost of Rs. 25,837 per item from Ontarc Pvt Ltd where the guarantee period was one year although Serendib Medicals had sent their quotations for Rs. 4,745 per item with a two year guarantee period. Also the government auditors have found out that surgical items worth Rs.1.549 million had been purchased and supplied to District Hospital, Walapane in 2011 but had not been used at the time the audits were carried out in May 2013.
“Even when there weren’t any requests for medical equipment, the Director Health Services, Central Province, had supplied such items. This is a waste of money,” sources added.
Refuting allegations, Dr. Samarasinghe said that she did not mislead the PSC and had not interfered with the Commission’s work. In regard to misleading the PSC to obtain a promotion, Dr. Samarasinghe said that it was the failed candidate that misled the Commission and after an inquiry her name had been cleared. However Dr. Samarasinghe refused to comment on the matter of misleading the PSC about the date of her appointment to the post of Director Health Services, Central Province, as the matter is before court.
“Since there was an injustice, I filed a Fundamental Rights Application in the Supreme Court seeking a stay order against my transfer. I got the stay order in 2012 and the case is still pending. Hence I do not want to make any comment in regard to that issue,” she said. However, Dr. Samarsinghe accused Pradeep Dharmasuriya of the Provincial Health Ministry, Central Province, of making baseless allegations against her.
With regard to the allegations levelled against her department for the misappropriation of state funds, Dr. Samarasinghe said that she has send acceptable answers to all the government audit queries.
“I am in receipt of letters from the auditors that they have accepted my answers to the allegations levelled. I am a person who has not done private practice throughout my career nor taken overtime or travelling allowances. My hands are clean. Since I am a straightforward person and do not allow frauds to take place, allegations are levelled at me to send me off from this posting,” Dr. Samarasinghe said.
Although Dr. Samarasinghe claimed that the government auditors have informed her that they have accepted her answers to the audit queries, inside sources at the Auditor General’s Department, Battaramulla confirmed to The Sunday Leader that although Dr. Samarasinghe had answered the audit queries, none of the answers were acceptable.
“She has not given proper answers to the questions we have raised. Hence we will be be instructing the relevant officers to take the matter further,” sources said.
The sources further said that the Auditor General’s Department does not write back to the parties concerned informing them of whether their answers have been accepted or not. “If accepted, we will not proceed with the cases and if not, we proceed with the matter,” sources claimed.
Meanwhile Secretary GMOA, Dr. Nalinda Herath said that as a trade union, irrespective of the medical officer’s status, stern action would be taken against Dr. Samarasinghe for going to courts and not accepting the ‘Doctors All Island Service.’
“After a hard battle the GMOA was able to get the government medical service as an all island service. By going to courts to say that her appointing authority is the Governor, Dr. Samarasinghe shows that the medical service is not an all island service which is harmful to our members,” Dr. Herath said.
Attempts to get a comment from Dr. Palitha Maheepala, Director General, Ministry of Health, was not successful.