The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law
Rauff Hakeem criticized the former Government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing practices he described as unscientific and contrary to WHO guidance, including the mandatory cremation policy for COVID-19 victims. He also raised concerns about vaccine procurement, suggesting that delays and procurement choices may have benefited certain companies, and asked the Minister of Health whether Sri Lanka could have obtained vaccines at lower prices through timely orders from established manufacturers.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, I thank our Minister of Health for providing a detailed response.
¶ 02 During the global pandemic, the then-Government engaged in unscientific practices—promoting concoctions and even pouring offerings into rivers—contrary to WHO guidelines. They also enforced the cremation of COVID-19 victims against international recommendations. Certain companies also advanced due to vaccination procurement.
¶ 03 Hon. Minister, do you accept that Sri Lanka could have secured vaccines at much lower prices had timely orders been placed with well-known manufacturers?
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 18 December 2024 ·No. 1735286612086554 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 18 December 2024. No. 1735286612086554. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/12111