Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
Former Deputy Secretary of Public Health Dr Josefa Koroivueta testified that concerns were raised of unethical bias regarding medical equipment’s procurements back in 2011.
He stated this when he took the stand as the sixth state witness in the Health Tender case involving former Health Minister, former Prime Minister and former Attorney-General.
He told the court that the former Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma in an email had stated that there was a monopoly with lab equipment procurement in Fiji which was costing the ministry a lot of money.
Dr Koroivueta stated that he drafted the contents of a letter which he sent through email to the PS of Health Dr Salanieta Suketa for the purchase of laboratory equipment’s which was on the advice of Dr Sharma.
He also stated that he got to know that the tender for CTN66/2011 was approved at a later Executive meeting.
When questioned by defence lawyer Wylie Clarke, the former Deputy Secretary of Public Health told the court that there was strong support from the former Health minister to upgrade rural laboratory services.
Koroivueta also confirmed that there was an urgent need to upgrade equipment’s as some were in poor conditions in sub divisional hospitals in the country.
The former Deputy Secretary of Public Health also said that there was dissatisfaction expressed by the former Health minister with the monopoly by Roche diagnostics.
He also confirmed the Dr Sharma’s intentions of upgrading the lab equipment’s were honourable.
The trial continues in the Suva High Court before Justice Usaia Ratuvuli.
