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Deputy takes over health hot seat

Dr Paison Dakulala
Dr Paison Dakulala

NEWS DESK
| Radio New Zealand

AUCKLAND – A new appointment has been made to Papua New Guinea's embattled health department, after the former health secretary's contract expired this week.

Dr Paison Dakulala will take over on a three month contract after Pascoe Kase's contract expired on Monday and was not renewed.

Mr Kase and the department have recently been under heavy scrutiny during a public inquiry into the supply and distribution of medicine.

The chair of that inquiry labelled Mr Kase's leadership a failure while he was grilled about the awarding of the country's contract to controversial company Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals.

In 2013, the government awarded Borneo Pacific the national medicine supply contract despite its bid being millions of dollars higher than those of other organisations, to the anger of many in the health sector.

Dr Dakulala had been deputy secretary under Mr Kase.

He was a specialist consultant before becoming deputy secretary in charge of health standards.

Comments

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Philip Kai Morre

It was rather strange to appoint Pascoe Kase, who is not even a trained clinician or doctor, to be the secretary for health. How much does he know about health issues in the country.

Under his administration, the whole system was corrupted. His involvement with the controversial company, Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals, was a serious problem that affected the shortage of medical drugs across the country and many mothers and babies died in rural areas.

The medicines supplied are of poor quality and side effects of taking such drugs are severe. How come a non-medical officer was appointed to mess up the health department.

Cabinet (NEC) must have been stupid to appoint someone who is so ignorant of what health care is all about. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) must not allow him to escape.

The contract to Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals failed to deliver quality and quantity medical drugs in time where remote areas never have any medicines for patients in serious medication.

David Kitchnoge

Now that we have a clinician in charge, no more excuses and passing the buck to some mysterious 'technical evaluation team'.

Kase still needs to answer for the mess uncovered by the public accounts committee.

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