Abdullah Al Ahmadi,
Director of Finance at the Ministry of Health said that the pending
payments accumulated to millions over the last few years due to
deficit budget allocation.
As the service
providers have started frowning, the finance ministry has promised
to settle the amounts within months as instalments or lumpsum
payment.
“As per the
agreement reached with the Ministry of Finance and Industry, an
amount of Dh32 million is to be paid to five local medical
companies, including Julphar, for purchases of medicines and medical
equipment will be completed within this and next month,” Ahmadi
said. Another Dh30 million as balance payment for overseas companies
will be settled in two or three instalments. “The first 15 million
will be paid this month,” added Ahmadi.
Meanwhile, the
Pharmacies and Supplies Department has dismissed rumours that
companies have stopped supplies to the ministry owing to outstanding
bills. Humaid Shamsi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Pharmacies and
Supplies underlined that the department was not facing any such
problems and that the Ministry of Finance was taking care of the
payments. When asked about the outstanding amount to be settled with
Etisalat, Ahmadi noted that deficit budgeting has had a crippling
effect on the overall functioning of the ministry.
“When I say deficit
budgeting, it covers just about everything that comes under our
purview.”
According to the
finance director, there have been serious cash crunch at the
Ministry of Health in the last few years as the budget allocation
lagged behind the actual needs of the emirates’ growing health
needs. “We are witnessing a dynamic population growth that in turn
means more demand for medicines, medical equipment, qualified
healthcare staff, and so on. The number of hospitals and healthcare
clinics have increased and the healthcare needs of the population
are also changing with the emergence of new diseases, new
vaccinations, and new medicines,” pointed out Ahmadi.
Moreover, with the
General Authority for Health Services (GAHS) taking over the health
facilities in the emirate of Abu Dhabi since last year, the MoH
has been faced with a 40 per cent reduction in its revenues. The
shrink in exchequer is mainly because the ministry has been stripped
off the authority to issue health cards in Abu Dhabi with the
transfer of the Preventive Medicine Department in the capital to
GAHS. “Health cards are one of the main sources of income for the
ministry, bringing in almost 50 per cent and above revenue. In the
next fiscal year, the revenues are sure to come down considerably,”
said a senior ministry official.
Even in 2004, the
ministry’s revenues incurred a loss of 1.01 per cent, while the
expenses increased by .03 per cent when compared to the 2003
figures. As per the 2004 financial report, the total expenses for
the year stood at Dh1,725,423,602.18 as against the total revenue of
Dh555,723,601.29. The taking over of the General Authority in Abu
Dhabi meant a reduction of 40.44 in our hospitals and 50.15 per cent
in the total number of beds. In addition, there will be a decrease
of 44.04 per cent in the primary health clinics, 27.27 per cent in
central school clinics, 33.33 in dental clinics and 27.27 per cent
child and mothercare centres. “But the reduction in expenses do not
have a positive bearing as revenues are not coming in, and what’s
worse, budget is in short supply,” he added.
