The Government has requested International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to divert funds allocated for the second, third and fourth quarter action plans for the purchase of high-flow oxygen machines.
The request was made via a circular issued by the National Secretariat for NGOs of the Internal Security, Home Affairs, and Disaster Management State Ministry, and signed by the Secretariat Director General Raja Goonaratne on 12 May.
Stating that the ongoing action plans for the quarters seem “impossible to implement,” the National Secretariat for NGOs requested that organisations examine the possibility of diverting funds for the purchase of high-flow oxygen machines after consulting with their respective funding agencies. According to the document, a total of Rs. 32,110,000 is required for the purchase of Fisher and Paykel Airvo 2 machines with a two-year warranty. The unit price listed in the document is Rs. 1,253,000. The total amount does not include VAT.
The document does not mention how many units will be purchased but does state that Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi on 10 May made a request, through Youth and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, on the possibility of purchasing the machines with the assistance of INGOs and NGOs as there was an urgent need for them.
“While the Government is taking the utmost efforts to make sure that every single citizen is safe and protected, INGOs and all local voluntary social service organisations also have a bigger role to play, as it is used to being in these kinds of nationally critical situations,” the document read.
It adds that the matter was discussed on 11 May on Zoom and that the activity could be mentioned as the organisations’ major project for the year as per regulatory compliance requirements.
(FT)