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How Ministry of Health allows impunity, corruption to thrive

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Nigeria’s Auditor-General Anthony Ayine has criticized the Federal Ministry of Health for allowing impunity to thrive in its system.
The Audit team clearly established a case of impunity against the Management of the Federal Ministry of Health over the manner Funds were diverted and a wilful contravention of Section 3 of the Appropriation Act, 2013 which provides that “Amounts appropriated under this Act shall be released from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation and applied only for the purpose specified in the schedule to this Act” and Financial Regulation 417 which states that “Expenditure shall strictly be classified in accordance with the Estimate and votes must be applied only to the purpose for which the money is provided. Expenditure incorrectly charged to a vote shall be disallowed”.
The condemnation was contained in the most recent released annual report of the Auditor-General for the Federation on the accounts of Nigerian agencies for the year ended December 2016.
The Auditor General observed that since the inception of the Ministry, management has failed to carry out one of its core responsibilities towards safeguarding the assets of the Ministry, namely maintaining an up-to-date Fixed Assets register.
“The Register was not updated for 2015 and 2016 to reflect the position of the assets acquired, owned or disposed of by the Ministry as the absence of this record creates room for pilferage, conversion, misplacement or misapplication of valuable government assets,” the report said.
Like other developing nations, Nigeria had over the years received foreign assistance in many areas, especially in the Health Sector where donors have provided assistance in critical areas like provision of scarce but highly needed drugs and equipment, funds for training of Health personnel, procurements and repairs of health facilities and equipment.
Nigeria’s health agencies like National Action for the Control of AIDs (NACA), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and National Programme on Immunisation (NPI), Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWRP), Polio Eradication Programme and others have always received assistance from foreign donors in advancing their nationwide activities.
Recently, assistance from some of these donors was suspended due to unsatisfactory reports emanating from the country’s health agencies as these reports border on lack of transparency in the management of funds released by the donors, failure to keep to signed agreements between the donors and Nigerian government and non-adherence to standards and procedures in procurements and execution of contracts.
“My attention was drawn to these anomalies in two agencies of the Federal Ministry of Health,” Ayine said.
Switzerland based- Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) accused Nigeria’s NPHCDA of mis-management of funds released by the organisation and invited the Nigeria’s Auditor General to observe the appointment of an audit firm to carry out extended cash programme audit of GAVI funds released to NPHCDA from 2010 to 2015.
The audit of GAVI’s financial assistance to NPHCDA carried out by a Ugandan based audit firm with branches in London and Abuja revealed variances between Bank Statement balances and balances in Annual Progress Report submitted by NPHCDA to GAVI.
The report revealed there was non-adherence to procedures stipulated in Public Procurement Act, 2007, in the procurement of goods, services and works valued at N4.9 billion in NPHCDA.
“The sum of N18.8 million was also reported to be ineligible expenditures as it comprised payments to suppliers who did not deliver the procured goods or services as per contract,” the report revealed.
The report observed that NPHCDA did not maintain a Fixed Assets Register as the audit team visited 125 health facilities located in 18 states and 49 Local Government Areas to assess whether procured items were delivered, existed in good condition and were being used for the intended purposes. It was discovered that this was not the case in many health facilities.
Another International Non-Governmental Organisation known as Inspector General of Global Fund (OIG), devoted to providing funds for health care in developing countries forwarded an audited report on Federal Ministry of Health’s Department of Planning, Research and Statistics (DPRS) to Nigeria’s auditor General through a letter with Ref. No. SGF.6/S.2/C.12/36 dated 6th May 2016.
The audited report revealed unexplained transfers of money from contractors to DPRS officials, mostly after contractors are paid as there was also Lack of transparency in the disbursement of tour allowances.
“There was collusion among staff in the sharing of released funds, improper procurement expenses and use of doubtful invoices and receipts as supporting documents on vouchers,” the report noted.
Nigeria’s auditor general noted that these two cases portrayed Nigeria in a very bad light before the international organizations and resulted in the suspension of funding for projects or activities sponsored by the NGOs due to mis-management of previous fund released.
The auditor general recommended that due disciplinary measures (including recoveries and prosecution) be taken against the indicted officials of these Agencies to serve as deterrent against such practices.
“However, the Federal Ministry of Health did not inform me of any action taken and the current status of these two issues; the Permanent Secretary should therefore justify this silence and inaction in the face of such serious matters,” Anthony Ayine, Nigeria’s Auditor General warned.
Earlier in March, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, named Nigeria as one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth and also the 4th country with worst maternal mortality rate after Sierra Leone, Central African Republic and Chad.
According to a report from United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), “Every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 children under five and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under-five and maternal mortality rate in the world.

 

DIPO OLADEHINDE

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