KUWAIT CITY, Nov 5: Although “Covid-19” pandemic has become a thing of the past, the financial and administrative violations committed by the Ministry of Health during the crisis still constitute significant material for the Audit Bureau. The annual report of the Audit Bureau regarding the results of implementing the final accounts of the ministries for fiscal 2022-2023 revealed the disbursement of bonuses, financial compensation, salaries, and allowances to doctors and workers during the pandemic and doctors who worked in administrative positions worth about 940 thousand dinars, in violation of the approved laws and regulations. The Bureau said in its report, “The Ministry combined the disbursement of the compensation reward for assigning overtime work to quarantine workers and the reward for the front rows for doing the same work, in violation of Law No. 4 of 2021, which links the budget of ministries and government departments for fiscal 2020/2021 and the restrictions contained therein 543,923 dinars was spent unlawfully.”

The Bureau confirmed that the Ministry of Health had disbursed a “guard allowance” and a training bonus to some doctors and employees working in the field of pharmaceutical services and allied medical services who were not assigned to the system and training in the Ministry worth 144,900 dinars, in violation of Civil Service Council Resolutions No. 5 of 2010 regarding salaries and allowances. The Bureau added: “The Ministry of Health” also disbursed 250 thousand as training bonuses and a “guard’s allowance” for those holding administrative positions in violation of Civil Service Council Resolution No. 5 of 2010 regarding the salaries and allowances of human doctors and dentists.

By Marwa Al-Bahrawi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff