Latest update April 12th, 2025 6:32 PM
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Police close to concluding multimillion-dollar fraud probe at Public Health Ministry …Auditor General Office takes keen interest
Investigators are said to have interviewed many staff members attached to the Ministry of Public Health as part of a wide probe into an alleged fraud involving millions of dollars being siphoned off from the state.
Staffers are accused of presenting fake invoices for payment on behalf of vendors whose services they claimed were utilized for events hosted by the Ministry.
According to officials, investigators believe that the practice is widespread and has been going on for some time.
In one particular instance, officials believe that the bogus transactions linked to this year’s Health Expo totaled about $50M.
Reports indicate that the police are to interview two remaining staffers before the probe concludes.
Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence
Internal auditors from the Ministry of Finance were also called in to look into the examinations. Kaieteur News understands that the Auditor General’s Office also plans to take a keen look at the issues surrounding the transactions.
Officials say that the Auditor General is interested in the Ministry’s accounting systems that allowed the fraud payments to persist over a period of time.
Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence, a professional accountant, had told employees when she took over the mantle in January 2017, that she would not tolerate dishonest employees.
Lawrence sits on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament which is responsible for scrutinizing state spending.
The Public Health Minister warned, “I will not compromise on the issue of accountability within the public health sector.”
Before the investigation was launched, the Minister had sternly cautioned senior employees to look out for police detectives and Finance Ministry internal auditors, who would investigate the “misappropriation of funds and the blatant attempts to steal” public funds.
According to Minister Lawrence, fraud has been ongoing for a long time at the Ministry.
The Minister had cautioned programme managers, to check what they sign and ensure that it meets the regulatory requirements and is in keeping with their programmes.”
Public Health officials have been under the microscope in relation to the procurement of drugs and the systems utilize for its drug distribution programme.
Lawrence, who has taken a tough stance publicly against allegations of procurement fraud, had also found herself defending the Ministry’s decision to sole source $367M worth of drugs and other pharmaceutical supplies from HDM Labs.
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