Naadu Pvt Ltd, on Thursday, confirmed that a shipment of nine ventilators from the 20 contracted to the company had arrived in the Maldives.
Naadu was contracted for a total of 24 ventilators through two separate contracts. On March 8, Naad was contracted to procure four ventilators within a period of 14 days. Upon completion, the government awarded the second contract for 20 ventilators on March 19.
The MVR 7 million contracts were initially signed to import the 20 ventilators within a period of 14 days. However, the period was extended upon the company failing to do so.
Naadu stated that the delay was caused by difficulties in acquiring ventilators through the global market, as well as hurdles in cargo shipments.
The company further stated that the ventilators were acquired through a German manufacturer, according to the specifications of the tender.
Naadu is an importer of medical equipment and is the sole distributor in the Maldives for a large number of reputed companies within Europe, China and South Korea.
The company noted that the government was yet to disburse any funds to acquire the ventilators.
As part of the ongoing COVID-19 response, the state has signed agreements with three different companies to acquire a total of 151 ventilators, including 26 ventilators from Naadu and 50 ventilators from MedTech Maldives Pvt Ltd, in addition to the 75 ventilators from Executors General Trading LLC.
Regarding the two local firms Naadu and MedTech Maldives, Auditor General Hassan Ziyath stated that agreements with the two companies were formulated in a manner that incurred loss to the state and seemingly steered towards enriching certain entities.
Maldives Police Service and the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) are conducting a joint investigation into the controversial tender
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