Massive irregularities, involving cases of corruption, are reportedly prevailing in the Port Health Department (PHD), which is located in Timber pond area of Keamari and works under the Ministry of Health.
According to sources, the seafarers, for whom it is mandatory to undergo medical check-up and get fitness certificate from PHD after every two years, find it almost impossible to get themselves medically examined and have a certificate without paying kickback ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000, depending on "rank and compulsion" of the applicant.
The authorities at PHD, however, reject the allegations as baseless, claiming that some union members were maligning the Department, where corruption "has become a matter of the past". They said the sailors, ranking from a crewman to captain, fetch foreign exchange of around $100 million for the country annually with no relevant authority, governmental or non-governmental, to guard them against such unfair treatment.
Unfortunately, such malpractice's in the PHD have inculcated corruption deep in the minds of many of the ship crews, who believe that nothing can be achieved through "proper channel" when it comes to shipping concerned government institutions, like Port Health Department. "You pay money and get everything done within a blink of an eye," a regular seafarer told Business Recorder.
The seafarers have to collect a "medical form", to be attached with the CDC (Continuous Discharge Certificate), from Shipping Office of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping and, after filling it out, go for medical examination by a doctor in PHD, who refers them to the Port Health Officer (PHO) for final signature. That "signature", okaying the fitness, sources said, costs the sailor heavily.
"The PHO has his agents to look for those (seafarers) who face difficulty in getting a medical certificate," said an insider. He claimed that the agents can well be seen roaming around the Department and offering medical fitness certificates to the sailors for money.
However, PHO, Dr Qadir Bhutto, whose qualification for the slot of PHO has long been in question in media circles, told Business Recorder that the claim was a "baseless allegation" which, he said, could never be substantiated by a valid proof. "There is nothing like that; no corruption whatsoever prevails in the department... some union people are doing this," he said.
The Health Officer claimed to have restricted affairs of the Department through making the registration and personal appearance a must for the candidates seeking a certificate. "In the past, such irregularities were there; but now things have been changed," Bhutto added.