Ahmad Al-Kinani

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) has called upon concerned authorities to hold accountable several national companies that have failed to complete 460 healthcare projects in different governorates and regions around the Kingdom.

According to a Nazaha source, many citizens reported the companies after they stopped implementing the projects whose contracts were signed in 2006 and 2007. The contracts were worth a total of SR3 billion.

Following these reports, Nazaha sent its inspectors to the project sites. It was found that more than six years had passed since the contractors took on the responsibility of implementing the projects but none of the projects had been completed.

The inspectors noted that the companies did not have enough technical staff and engineers nor did they have engineers on site to supervise the work progress.

Nazaha said health affairs directorates could have played an important role in following up with the contractors and ensuring work was being done on time and without any delay.

Another factor which contributed to delaying the implementation of the project had to do with the Ministry of Health’s decision to change the conditions and specifications of some centers long time after the contracts were awarded.

The ministry required some companies to change the old models they had designed for the centers and replace them with new ones. This took place three years after the contracts were signed with the companies.

According to the Nazaha report, the ministry should have canceled the contracts with the current companies because they failed to finish the projects on time. But instead, they opted to give these companies another chance to come up with new designs for the centers.

The report noted also that the companies, which were not specialized in furnishing medical facilities, were asked to do so, nevertheless.

Another thing that caught the Nazaha inspectors' attention was that many of the medical equipment and furniture at some centers had been sitting there unprotected for a long time and may have to be disposed. Nazaha said these projects should have been awarded to specialized companies.