The misappropriation of funds, even ineligible expenses, within the framework of a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) project in Madagascar, mentioned during the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, concern a few ministries, this UN body indicated in a press release issued Friday. The Minister of Communication and Culture, and no less government spokesperson, Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy Andriatongarivo, revealed in the followingnoon, during her weekly program on national channels, a few names.
The Ministry of Communication, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Water, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons and the BNGRC are among the departments concerned by these diversions between 2014 and 2019, said Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy Andriatongarivo. The global agreement between UNICEF and Madagascar was signed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, hence the involvement of this ministerial department in this affair.
The current Minister of Communication clarifies that it is not his current department, but that of before, that is to say the Ministry of Communication and Relations with the institutions of 2016. “ As soon as I took office, the head of UNICEF at the time informed us of this case of embezzlement and we ordered the opening of an internal investigation, then we took the case to the Independent Office anti-corruption (BIANCO) “, she clarified. Thus, the report went back to him, for the Ministry of Communication.
The funds were granted by Unicef to the Malagasy State within the framework of a joint programme. They were allocated within the framework of ” a well-defined work plan ” and are ” governed by a common operational framework “. The procedures followed thus guarantee “ alignment of expenditure with planned activities ».
The total amount that lacks supporting documents therefore diverted regardless of the qualification, is more than 3 billion ariary. ” The standard procedure is to return these funds to Unicef to be reallocated “, says UNICEF in its press release. The President of the Republic, Andry Rajoelina, who ordered the deployment of State Inspectors General, would demand that those responsible be placed before their responsibilities and provide explanations concerning the facts.
