DR Congo's Winter Health Minister Talks About Mafia Network

The Deputy Minister of Health of DR Congo accused members of the Government of receiving kickbacks on public procurement intended to combat the coronavirus pandemic, while the country's health workers had not been paid for several months. This was reported by the Reuters news agency, citing a statement by Albert Mpeti Biyombo. Biyombo said that his confidential letter to the country's prime minister dated June 29, the text of which was widely circulated on social networks, is genuine. I do not know how this happened, he said, commenting on the reasons for the leak of confidential information to the network. In the letter, unnamed members of the Government were accused of conspiring with a mafia network inside the Ministry of Health to steal funds from the Government and its aid partners, despite the fact that State hospitals were not adequately equipped with basic equipment and medicines. These allegations are likely to exacerbate the medical strike in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Recall that last week, medical workers in the country's capital, Kinshasa, began a partial strike in protest against the fact that they were not paid salaries for months. Mafia networks require kickbacks of up to 35% of the structures with these funds, Biyombo said in a letter, where he recalled his previous request for a financial audit of funds to combat the pandemic. He added that Health Minister Etheny Longondo signed major contracts for ambulances, beds and other medical equipment, without applying for the signature of his deputy, which is contrary to the rules of public procurement. Since the first coronavirus case was confirmed in March, over 7,700 cases have been reported in DR Congo, mostly in Kinshasa. However, the country's health authorities state that the lack of test kits and widespread stigma around testing mean that the true number of infections is likely to be much higher. In March, Longondo's predecessor, Oli Ilunga, was sentenced to five years of correctional labor for embezzling more than $400,000 from Ebola response funds.