Congo Virus Funds Embezzled by 'Mafia Network', Says Deputy Minister
Congo's deputy health minister has accused cabinet members
of receiving kickbacks on government contracts for the coronavirus response
while health workers went unpaid for months.
Albert M'peti Biyombo told Reuters on Wednesday that a
confidential letter from him to the prime minister dated June 29, which was
widely shared on social media, was authentic, adding: "I don't know how it
got out."
The letter accused unnamed members of the cabinet of
colluding with networks within the health ministry to embezzle funds from the
government and its aid partners even as state hospitals lacked drugs and basic
equipment.
The allegations are likely to worsen a standoff over pay
with those responding to the coronavirus epidemic in Democratic Republic of
Congo. Last week, health workers in the capital Kinshasa began a partial strike
in protest at not being paid bonuses for months.
"These mafia networks require kickbacks of up to 35%
from structures benefiting from these funds," Biyombo said in the letter,
where he recalled a previous request for a financial audit of the response.
He said that Health Minister Eteni Longondo had signed off
large disbursements of funds - for ambulances, beds and other medical equipment
- without seeking his deputy's counter-signature, overriding government
procurement rules.
Longondo did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
"I am regularly under pressure to sign non-priority and
unrelated financial documents," Biyongo said. He pointed to examples
including the payment of medical fees for coronavirus treatment at a hospital
not designated for free care by the government.
Since confirming its first case of coronavirus in March,
Congo has recorded over 7,700 cases, overwhelmingly in Kinshasa. But health
authorities say a shortage of test kits and widespread stigmatisation around
testing mean the true number of infections is likely to be far higher.
In March, Longondo's predecessor Oly Ilunga was sentenced to
five years of forced labour for embezzling more than $400,000 from Ebola
response funds.
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