AFRICA/SIERRA LEONE - Investigation into the embezzlement of funds allocated in the fight against Ebola virus

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Freetown (Agenzia Fides) - There are 40 people under investigation on charges of embezzlement of funds allocated in the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone. The investigation came after a check carried out by the Audit Service Sierra Leone, which found that one-third of the funds allocated for the fight against the pandemic were spent without a clear reason.
The report, released in mid-February, encountered: inadequate controls on the allocation of funds; payments to hospitals without any evidence that money was allocated to the salaries of doctors and nurses at the forefront in assisting the sick, who in turn are likely to contract the disease; the payment of funds to the directors of hospitals and other bodies and not to the coffers of the bodies they chaired, and other irregularities.
The report examined the period from May to October 2014 and relates to government funds generated from tax revenue and those donated by individuals and institutions. Funds donated by international institutions such as the UN and foreign NGOs were excluded.
In neighboring Guinea, another Country hit by the ebola emergency, voices were raised to open a similar investigation to check the correct use of the funds allocated by the government and national and international donors to help patients and combat the spread of the virus. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 03/03/2015)


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