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 the media that a confidential letter from him to the prime minister which was widely shared on social media, was authentic, adding that he didn’t know how it got out to the public.
The leaked letter accused unnamed members of the cabinet of conspiring 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.
Last week, health workers in the capital Kinshasa began a partial strike in protest at not being paid bonuses for months.
The allegations are likely to worsen a standoff over pay with those responding to the coronavirus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the letter where he recalled a previous request for a financial audit of the response, Biyombo stated that “These mafia networks require kickbacks of up to 35% from structures benefiting from these funds”
He also 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, countermanding government procurement rules.
“I am regularly under pressure to sign non-priority and unrelated financial documents,” Biyongo said. He pointed to some instances 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, Health Minister, Eteni Longondo’s predecessor Oly Ilunga was sentenced to five years of forced labour for embezzling more than $400,000 from Ebola response funds.
