Graft charges sought against 3 including state minister
Instead of the company that scored the highest marks in the National Drug Agency's evaluation, the work was awarded to the company that scored second.
By
Aman Haleem
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday forwarded a request to the Prosecutor General's Office (PG) to charge the incumbent state health minister Aishath Rasheed and two former directors of the gender ministry in connection with the awarding of the renovation of GDh. Thinadhoo Drug Detoxification centre to someone else despite another having legally won the bid by offering the lowest price.
The accused in the case are:
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Aishath Rasheed (incumbent minister of state for health)
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Former gender ministry director Hudooda Waheed
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Former gender ministry director Aiminath Shihama
The agency investigated the case after it was alleged that the gender ministry's bid committee had awarded the work of renovating the detox centre to the company that scored second best marks.
The investigation revealed that:
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Instead of the company that scored the highest marks in the National Drug Agency's evaluation, the work was awarded to the company that scored second
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The decision was taken by the bid committee comprising the three accused
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The work was awarded at a cost of MVR 657,846.60 more than the one who stood first in the evaluation.
"This is in violation of rules and an attempt to gain undue advantage to a section of people," the agency said in a statement. The charges sought by the ACC against the trio in the case are as follows:
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Abuse of official position
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The offence of acting otherwise in a matter which is beneficial to the state
