Global fund releases PNG grants report

National, Normal
Source:

The National,Friday July 13th, 2012

HEALTH secretary Pascoe Kase and chairwoman of the Papua New Guinea Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), the local governing body for Global Fund, Lady Roselyn Morauta have welcomed the release of the audit report on Global Fund grants to PNG.The Global Fund provides money to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the country.The audit was carried out in 2010 by the Office of the Inspector General, an independent review organisation in Global Fund.He acknowledged the deficiencies pointed out by the report, particularly in financial management, record keeping and other issues of compliance with grant agreements, work plans and procurement plans.“The majority of the amount of money that was difficult to account for related to unacquitted advances, lack of supporting documentation for transactions and a large number of beds and nets were stolen from the Southern Highlands provincial health,” Kase said.Another issue highlighted in the report was related to drug procurement where, with the shortage of drugs, there was suspected to be manipulation of the procurement system exemplified by the high cost of drugs procured on the local market.  Kase said that the department was addressing all these problems.He said significant changes to the medical supply system had been recommended to Cabinet, while internal audit and financial oversight functions had been strengthened and action taken to suspend staff implicated in questionable procurement and other financial dealings.Lady Roselyn said CCM had taken steps to ensure all principal recipients, including the health department, rectified the reported deficiencies.She said the health department had taken a significant step by resigning as the principal recipient to reduce administrative burdens and allow for more time to implement reforms.She said the department was still implementing the programme but no longer managed the administration and financial accounts.She said OIG had recognised the efforts taken by PNG to implement the recommendations.“The report is comprehensive and fair and is timely because it caused CCM and other implementing agencies to examine their performance and take steps to rectify it,” Lady Roselyn said.
She said an oversight committee had been set up to regularly and systematically assess the performance of the grants and grant implementers and to report its finding to CCM.