Global fund: The $3.8m scandal, govt commences probe

On May 3, the Global Funds to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said it had evidence from an audit of its grants to Nigeria that $3.8 million was mismanaged. The Global Fund is an organization founded in 2002 to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It has been working with governments including Nigeria, […]

On May 3, the Global Funds to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said it had evidence from an audit of its grants to Nigeria that $3.8 million was mismanaged.
The Global Fund is an organization founded in 2002 to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It has been working with governments including Nigeria, civil society and people affected by the disease.
According to the orgainsation, in late 2014, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation into the expenditures of the Nigerian Government’s Department of Health Planning, Research & Statistics (DPRS), a subrecipient of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), the Principal Recipient for HIV/AIDS grants.
A copy of the report obtained by the Daily Trust Health Desk showed the details of the alleged the misappropriation of the grants received between2010 to 2014.
“The OIG investigation confirmed the Local Fund Agent’s initial findings and found extensive evidence of systematic embezzlement of program funds, fraudulent practices and collusion by DPRS staff and consultants assigned to the Global Fund-financed program. The OIG found some form of irregularity or fraud in most vouchers reviewed (from 2010 to 2014). Seven of the ten staff and three consultants assigned to the program were involved or linked to the misappropriation of funds,” the report said.
Explaining how the funds were mismanaged, the organization in the report said DPRS staff embezzled funds through a variety of means including, mainly misrepresenting or inflating the amounts paid to hotel venues for meeting facilities and rooms, inflating and/or falsifying receipts related to Daily Subsistence Allowance entitlements, transportation expense to and from the venue, fuel and stationery; iii) claiming expenditures for travel not taken. In some instances, DPRS staff colluded with and received kickbacks from hotels and suppliers and inflating the number of attendees at a meeting or training or its duration.
The report said the OIG found direct evidence that supporting documents for items such as airline tickets, boarding passes, hotel invoices, and fuel and stationery receipts were forged. “For many expenses, DPRS staff also systematically fabricated supporting documentation by creating a system to replace documents that appeared too “fake.” Reimbursements were also made to staff and consultants with little or no supporting documentation. Additionally, there is evidence that shows that there were transfers between two key DPRS staff and four other DPRS staff within the program, including payments to the Program Coordinator,” the report said.
Global Fund said the OIG’s inspection found that DPRS staff had fabricated or inflated more than half of the receipts. The OIG’s deeper review of 202 payment vouchers, representing 57% of the total number of 355 and 77% of the total funds expended on service deliveries of US$3,816,766, found some form of irregularity or fraud in most of them.
According to the organization DPRS, as a sub-recipient under the grants, did not implement an effective system of internal controls to safeguard grant funds to ensure they were not misused or stolen while NACA, as the grants’ Principal Recipient, did not effectively monitor its sub-recipient’s implementation and use of program funds.
The Head Grant Management of the Global Fund Mark Edington  wrote to the National Coordinator of the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe, detailing the fraud perpetrated by officials that led to the suspension and demanded the Federal Government take action.
The National Coordinator of the National malaria Elimination programme said the  organization received the letter and the ministry of health is working towards addressing the concerns raised in it.
The Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA)  Prof. John Idoko in his presentation following the report said the systemic issues raised in the report are receiving urgent attention by the government and the agency  to address them, adding that the Global fund has been making public health impact on People living with HIV.
Responding to the development, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) demanded the immediate prosecution of health and other officials who failed the audit test.
The Lead Director of CSJ Barrister Eze Onyekpere, in a statement said the development is a national scandal that rubs negatively on the image of Nigeria at a time the government claims to be committed to the war against corruption.
“We therefore call on the anti-corruption agencies to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding this mismanagement as established in the audit report of the NMEP and bring the perpetrators to book. Nigerians expect the plugging of the leaks so as to avoid a repeat in the future. We also need guarantees of non-repetition,” Onyekpere said.
Following the scandal,  the federal government has set up two probe panels and they are expected to submit their reports within four weeks.
According to the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, President Muhammadu Buhari  has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to launch full investigation into the scandal.
He also directed the Secretary to the Government of Federation to review earlier audit reports from the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The first panel, is headed by Prof. Adewole, and will review all programmes while the second panel, chaired by the Auditor General of the Federation – Mr Samuel Ukura, will review all financial transactions during the period.
He added that all indicted officials would be given fair hearing while those found guilty would be sanctioned.