Alleged " mismanagement and criminal offences" have been committed in Senegal in the management of anti-Covid-19 funds, according to a monitoring institution which is calling for a judicial investigation against at least ten officials, in a report consulted by AFP on Tuesday.
The audit by the Court of Auditors of Senegal focuses on expenditures made in 2020 and 2021 on the "Covid-19 Response Fund" amounting to more than 740 billion FCFA (more than 1.1 billion euros), financed by donors and the State, according to this report published on the website of the control institution attached to the Presidency of the Republic .
"The total amount of expenditure (made by various ministries and) unrelated to Covid-19 amounts to 19,727,096,727 FCFA" (approximately 30 million euros), the document points out.
The Court of Auditors says it has, for example, noted an "overbilling" of more than 2.7 billion FCFA (4 million euros) on the price of rice bought and distributed to the poorest populations in a context of confinement, and several shortcomings in "supporting documents" for expenses.
She also noted "a cash payment to suppliers for an amount of 2.5 billion FCFA" (3.8 million euros) whereas the texts require the settlement of State expenses by check or bank or postal transfer .
"The analysis of aid and relief" to families reveals that "people with the same first and last names, identical identity card numbers, and sometimes the same addresses, have received aid several times with different amounts . "
The Court of Auditors is asking the Senegalese Ministry of Justice to open a judicial investigation against at least ten people, including officials in ministries involved in the management of the anti-Covid-19 fund, in its report.
The objective of this fund, established by President Macky Sall , was to strengthen the failing health system in this country, support households, the diaspora and private businesses and maintain a proper supply of medical, pharmaceutical and basic foodstuffs to the country.
Many officials in sub-Saharan Africa are suspected of embezzling or mismanaging funds allocated to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic , particularly in Cameroon , Guinea and South Africa .
