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NHI Used Like Slush Fund For Central Health Region
posted (May 23, 2014)
And staying on the subject of the Ministry of Health, last night we showed you a few salient points from the 37 page Auditor General report on Central Health Region. CEO Dr Peter Allen asked the Auditor General to investigate after conscientious public officers warned him of frequent irregularities in the management of the region's budget. But nothing prepared the Auditor General's office for the long list of very unusual money maneuvers allegedly orchestrated by the Regional Manager Melinda Guerra. The auditor found misrepresentations, mis-allocations, misdirection, and a few missing purches. Tonight we'll focus on the alleged mis-use of NHI funds designated for the Matron Roberts Clinic, on a whole bunch of stuff:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
At the end of April, the Matron Roberts Clinic was honoured at this ceremony. The honor was for its stellar performance as a NHI Clinic - best in the central region. Reason to celebrate, to be sure - but what we didn't know at the time was that behind that veneer of excellence was a cesspool of misuse of NHI funds, the same funds earned as a bonus for stellar performance in that NHI programme.

In the Auditor General's review of the period from January 2012 to September 2013, she found repeated misuses of NHI Funds - tens of thousands of dollars designated for Matron Roberts but diverted to the Ministry of Health and the Central Region.

The auditor found that the Manager of the region Melinda Guerra herself "requested and approved twelve withdrawals totaling $50,096.00, from the NHI bank account, managed by the Matron Roberts Polyclinic.

The report notes that these payments "appeared inconsistent with the governing policies and guidelines for the Polyclinic."

But it continued, unabated. There was $12,957.25 used from the NHI Bank Account for the payment of the 2012 Central Health Region's Christmas Party.

$1,400.00 paid from the NHI Bank Account for Guerra's colonoscopy "even though the financial guidelines for NHI funds specifically stated that in no circumstances shall any officer use PCP funds for any private purposes, however temporary." Guerra said that the payment of the medical expense was an incentive to her.

Another alleged incentive was a one thousand dollar gift to her, again, courtesy the NHI programme, this time as part of 2012 NHI bonus. The gift? A high tech Nikon DSLR Camera. It was paid for, but in one of the only happy endings in this story, the camera was never delivered and the money was refunded.

And Guerra wasn't the only one getting incentives: she ok'd bonuses paid from the NHI fund but for staff who didn't work at the NHI facility - Matron Roberts. CEO Peter Allen signed off on a list of names, and the auditor found that Guerra, added names to the list - including her retiring Deputy Joan Flowers.

Manager for Matron Roberts Alexy Rosado - who had to sign off on all this was uncomfortable with the additional names added to the list - especially since it included a payment to a retired person. But, that's what Guerra recommended, so it went through.

Guerra told the auditors it was an incentive to her since Ms. Swift was leaving the region and there was no farewell party for her.

The auditor states, quote, "we were of the opinion that the staff of the Central Health Region may not have met the eligibility criteria to receive a bonus."

And while they got bonuses, the apparently inexhaustible NHI Bank account was also used to pay $16,100.00 in interest free loans to employees and non- employees of Matron Roberts Polyclinic.

This table shows the recipients:

And Guerra says the CEO, Peter Allen told her that loans can be granted.

Again, the rules say quote, "in no circumstances shall any officer use Primary Care Provider funds for any private purposes, however temporary."

But CEO Allen told the Auditor he didn't approve all the loans, but stated he did not have a problem with the granting of loans.

And Allen also didn't have a problem with funds from Matron Roberts being used for two plane tickets to Chicago for he and the Minister, Pablo Marin to go to Chicago to get a donated ambulance - one that was not for Matron Roberts.

The auditor notes that foreign travel is to be approved by the Ministry of Finance, but CEO Allen made the request directly to Matron Roberts Manager Alexey Rosado.

Overall the auditor concluded that the "NHI bank account managed by Matron Roberts Polyclinic was being used by the CHR as a supplement to the annual recurrent budget provisions. "

We'll continue to drill down into the report with a part 3 next week.

And so while we've told you all about the fleecing of Southern Regional and, now, the irregularities of the central Region, Toledo is now the one under the microscope. Seeing all that went wrong in Dangriga where 366 thousand dollars is unaccounted for, the Ministry has asked the Auditor General's Office to look at Toledo. The audit isn't finished yet, but reliable sources tells us that auditors are again finding misuse of NHI funds with invented charges and funds fleeced.

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