National auditors have found out that Sierra Leone has failed to properly account for almost a third of the money allocated to fight Ebola.
These undocumented losses may have slowed the country’s emergency response to the Ebola outbreak and may have led to unnecessary loss of life.
A report, released late last week, found “inadequate controls” over the disbursement of funds, hazard payments being made to hospitals with no proof the money was actually going to the health workers on the frontline and in some cases a “complete disregard for the law” in procurement .
That is why the Sierra Leone’s anti-corruption commission has launched an investigation into allegations of corruption following a damning report on the use of the government’s emergency Ebola funds.about forty persons, including high-profile medical officials and local leaders,were called to report to its offices immediately with documentation to show how the funds were disbursed.
A government spokesman said the list of names was released on Tuesday as part of an independent investigation of the report.
“Allegations of corruption, we take very seriously. The perception of corruption is not good the image of the country,” he said.
They have been told to report “with immediate effect” and to “bring along documents in respect of the management of Ebola funds”.
The head of the Health for All Coalition, Charles Mambu, received six cheques made out to him instead of the organisation, according to the national auditors report.
Among others on the list are the country’s chief nursing officer, the district medical officer for Bombali, the home district of the president, and the former permanent secretary at the ministry of health.
All medical officers for each of the country’s 14 districts would be interviewed, the commission said.
Government spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay said that as part of strict anti-corruption laws, the commission was “obliged to conduct its own independent investigation” into the auditor’s report. It also had its own “prosecutorial powers” and did not have to wait for a request from the government to investigate.
“We will support all the institutions that continue to bring accountability to the government,” he said.
source:the guardian
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