Health Minister Zahid Maleque’s speech on irregularities in the health sector has triggered a commotion in the parliament, reports bdnews24.com.
Responding to the words of an opposition MP, Maleque said they, too, have responsibilities and only complaining would solve nothing.
While passing the budget on Wednesday, a discussion over demands for grants of three ministries and directorates - the law ministry, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and the Directorate General of Health Services - were held in the parliament.
Members of the Jatiya Party, the BNP and the Gonoforum proposed retrenchment.
Jatiya Party’s Pir Fazlur Rahman said, “How many times shall I forward DO [demi official] letters? The hospital in my area has no ambulance, when will I get doctors, X-ray machines, radiologists?
“Every time I tell the health minister, he asks me to give a DO letter. How many times should I do that?”
Another member of the chief opposition party, Shameem Haider Patwary said, “The health ministry has been unable to spend the money. They returned it. That’s not what we want. If you can’t spend it, distribute it among 350 MPs. Let’s spend it.
“We will watch over health services. You are not needed. Hand over the responsibility to the MPs if you are not able to appoint doctors and nurses. Let’s take care of appointments.”
BNP’s Rumeen Farhana raised different complaints against the health sector and said, “Where is the allocation we are providing to the health ministry going? This raises the question of whether the ministry is capable of spending from allocation.”
Her party colleague Harunur Rashid added: “The health sector is going through a crisis. To get rid of corruption… you have to uproot it. There are huge irregularities with purchases in the health sector. There’s nothing new to say about corruption.”
In response, Maleque said, “All MPs are chairpersons of hospitals. We are involved with the development committees. You all have responsibilities. You are supposed to look into these matters. Your machine doesn’t run, you need people - these are matters you need to resolve yourself.”
“But you don’t do that. If you need nurses, doctors or machinery then you need to ask for it. Just complaining over it won’t solve anything.
“We will make arrangements for whatever’s needed. But watching over these things fall on you as chairpersons.”
A commotion broke out at this point of his speech. Members of the Jatiya Party and BNP contested the words of Maleque, who continued by saying: “Everything is under lockdown. None of you were able to go abroad. So from where are you getting [health] services? You are getting it from the hospitals in Bangladesh.
“And that is because the hospitals are capable of providing the services and you are doing fine.”
On the complaints of indiscipline and corruption against the ministry, “Complaints of corruption have to be specific. You spoke about masks which were never purchased. No payment went through. Nothing was received. Still you speak of it.
“Take a better look into the matters and tell the right things, specific things. Pouring out complaints of indiscipline will not be accepted.”
His words again triggered a ruckus in the House and the minister then turned down the retrenchment proposal made by the members of the opposition parties.