SPC pays Rs. 644 million for software that doesn't accommodate requirements

The State Pharmaceuticals Corporation of Sri Lanka (SPC) has revealed that it has made a payment of Rs. 644 million for software that does not accommodate its requirements.

The revelation was made after the SPC and the Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health were summoned before the COPE on Tuesday (31) for an inquiry.

The SPC revealed that it had to pay Rs. 644 million for an inventory management software that took seven years to build and implement.

A representative of the SPC said that software reportedly contracted by a private company had been created from 2008 and had only been implemented in 2015.

The SPC representative also stated that the institution makes a payment of Rs. 5 million monthly as maintenance even though the software does not work as intended, pointing out that only some entries can be entered into the system.

Further, the representative also mentioned that it would cost an estimated Rs. 7 billion to upgrade the existing system to one that fulfills the requirements of the SPC.

Following the revelation, COPE Chairman Dr. Charith Herath made an open request from the tech community to help build software that can undertake inventory management, procurement management, and need assessment for the SPC. (NewsWire)