GMOF wants immunoglobulin scam busted and Keheliya arrested

Government Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) President Dr. Rukshan Bellana addressing the media at the protest held in front of the Ministry of Health on January 9 calling for the arrest of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella 
(Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana)

• The protesters underscored that Rambukwella when he was health minister had violated the regulatory procedures of the Drug Regulatory Authority when importing the human immunoglobulin antibody

“None of the medicine in Sri Lanka is safe,” said Government Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) President Dr. Rukshan Bellana when he addressed the media at a peaceful protest held in front of the Ministry of Health on January 9. This protest was organised by activists and civil society organisations who demanded to arrest former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella in connection with the immunoglobulin scam. Further Dr. Bellana stressed that the CID should conduct proper investigations regarding the relevant complaints. He also raised his concern regarding this scam.
The social media activist Piyath Nikeshala said that they are fighting for justice and stated that they conducted the protest because they want the CID to arrest the former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. Also he urged the CID to probe the total net worth of Rambukwella and his family. 
Nadeesh De Silva is a Senior Lecturer who stands on the side of the people. He questioned why the former health minister is still not taken to task. “Keheliya took away the lives of a whole country. This is a country that enjoys free health facilities and there is evidence as to what the minister did. Why aren’t they arresting him,” asked Silva. 
Mage Rata organization President Sanjaya Mahawaththa was present at the protest to raise his voice against the medicine scam involving Rambukwella. He told the media that the main purpose of having this peaceful protest is to expose the corruptions of former Health Minister Rambukwella. 
“The CID hides real information from the public. CID should give us a statement about this. I demand that the CID must conduct a proper and clear investigation regarding this matter. If these people remain without receiving punishment it would be a threat to the lives of people,” said Mahawaththa. 

Speaking to the Daily Mirror Academy of Health Professionals President Ravi Kumudesh said that he hopes that the CID will do its job properly or else they might need to receive the necessary trainings to sharpen their skills to engage in their profession properly. Kumudesh also identifies a problem associated with the health system and called for a change.
“We are continuously telling that there is a systematic scam taking place at the Ministry of Health. One of those is the immunoglobulin scam. In short I would like to tell that Keheliya used this as an opportunity for business. We thought that there is a Criminal Investigation Department in this country and its duty is to conduct the investigations properly and secretly using solid evidence. If the CID is only focusing on the written documents we really do not need a CID in this country. We trust that CID will go beyond that level and conduct their investigations. If they are not investigating this properly I think we should focus on the work of the CID as well. Even after about 100 days we are disappointed that they still couldn’t find the culprits. We also consider this as a weakness of the CID and they might need to improve on their training and their skills. In this system we won’t be able to find the politicians who are connected with corruption. The system of this country should change. We should put the health service of this country on the right track. The CID must be responsible in exposing the culprits. We hope that the CID will do that,” affirmed Kumudesh. 

Activist Melani Gunathilaka opined that former health minister Rambukwella is directly responsible for this large scale fraud. 
“Rambukwella should be immediately arrested as a minister directly responsible for this large-scale fraud and loss of lives with regards to the case of importing human immunoglobulin antibody worth 94 crore rupees. By doing so he violated the regulatory procedures of the Drug Regulatory Authority and imported human immunoglobulin antibody. Every Sri Lankan citizen pays high taxes even with the smallest purchases they do. Free and standardized healthcare is a right of every Sri Lankan, and the minister was paid a salary to ensure that regulations were followed. In addition to violating the procedures of the Drug Regulatory Authority, they have misled the National Blood Bank to obtain the blood needed for the production of medicine. This is not just a simple mistake. Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to think that justice can be delivered by giving Keheliya a different ministerial portfolio. While this happens Ranil’s legal advisor as well as a director of NMRA is appearing in court for Keheliya. Even when the former ministerial secretary and even the owner of the pharmaceutical company gave evidence that Rambukwella was involved in this scam, the CID is allegedly refusing to arrest him; let alone write down statements against him. The taxpayers of Sri Lanka and thousands of patients who were given poor quality medicine and their family members need justice. Arrest Keheilya immediately,” demanded Gunathilaka. 
Youth Activist Anuruddha Bandara told the Daily Mirror that he was at this peaceful protest to seek justice for the people and that he was representing the Citizens Collective. 
“This is a question about the tax money of the people and about their lives. The most notable incident is that the CID, which is conducting investigations based on the complaint filed by Keheliya’s counsel Rajiv Perera on 11.10.2023, has considered Keheliya as a complainant, disregarding the complaint lodged by a civil organization activist, Kamanta Thushara, under the CID on 02.10.2023. With these facts, we cannot hope for a fair investigation at all. We hope to continue raising our voices against this fraudulent regime for the sake of the people. We demand that Keheliya Rambukwella be arrested and that the law will be implemented,” said Bandara. 
The activists and civil society representatives have demanded from the CID to arrest former health minister Rambukwella who is currently holding a ministerial position at the Ministry of Environment.