Health personnel died because they did not equip him, says commission that investigated pandemic management | El Salvador News

There were 14 conclusions issued by the special commission that interviewed ministers and civil servants related to activities and funds executed during the pandemic. He also recommended the removal of Alabi as Minister of Health.

The partial report of the special commission that investigated the management of the pandemic reached 14 conclusions and several recommendations, among them, to ask President Nayib Bukele, to dismiss the Minister of Health, Francisco Alabi, for the ” irregularities “found by MPs after listening to various ministers and civil servants who were interviewed by lawmakers.

The president of the ISRI and the director of the care center for the elderly, Sara Zaldívar, recommend “that they have control of the institution they are in charge of and that their only responsibility is the lives of the residents. of center, since it is inconceivable that until that date the whereabouts of more than 50 old adults who were under their strict guardianship are not known “. They agreed to send a report on this situation to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the possibility of having committed crimes.

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The recommendation to Bukele to remove the Minister of Health is due to the fact that the Ministry of Tourism hired a house owned by an Alabi cousin for a containment center.

For this case, the recommendation is made “by conflict of interest”, since, according to reports submitted by the owner of the branch, Bruna Valdez, this institution contracted three times for a month properties of the family of the Minister of Health, for a sum of $ 18,850.

The Minister of Health, Francisco Alabi, committed irregularities with the handling of pandemic data, according to the conclusions reached by the deputies. Photo EDH / Archive

“This kinship was confirmed by the head of the Health portfolio, José Francisco Alabi Montoya, in the framework of his appearance in the special commission. It was also the official Bruna Valdez, who during her statement, expressed that the Ministry of Tourism only hired containment centers, which were validated or authorized by the Ministry of Health, ”the partial report says.

They also conclude that there was manipulation of data on people killed by COVID-19; that human rights were violated in containment centers; that there were acts of corruption in the transfer of $ 25 million from Social Security to El Salvador Hospital; and that Public Works failed to meet the deadline to complete phase III of the special hospital for COVID cases, among other aspects.

“(President Nayib Bukele is recommended) The dismissal of the Minister of Health (Francisco Alabi) for the irregularities found and the conflict of interest”

Special commission report,

“The Executive Body systematically carried out irregular actions that affected the treatment, prevention and control of the pandemic; it is determined that the central government did not have or has to date a comprehensive pandemic management plan; administration of President Nayib Bukele through the Ministry of Health, lied, manipulated and misrepresented at its convenience the data related to the number of deaths, confirmed cases and tests performed on VOCID-19 during the pandemic “, are other conclusions.

They express that the Social Security provided the Executive with a loan of $ 25 million for the Hospital del Salvador, without the organic law of the ISSS allowing it, and that it was evident that so far no ‘has defined how the government will repay this loan.

“The government of President Nayib Bukele used national radio and television stations to exaggerate and manipulate mathematical projections of the evolution of the disease, the former with the aim of instilling fear and terror to try to discipline the population. “, says part of the conclusions.

They point out that front-line staff who died during the pandemic were infected by the fact that the Ministry of Health and the ISSS did not provide them with the necessary and suitable biosecurity equipment for the care of patients suffering. of COVID-19.

That the MOP failed to meet the deadline for the delivery of the construction project for phase III of the El Salvador hospital, which was scheduled for the end of July 2020.

The deputies agreed to send the partial report to the Government Ethics Court and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the possibility of having committed the crimes of embezzlement through the fault of the Minister of Health and also against the directors of ISRI and the Sara Zaldívar Asylum.

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The report will be sent to the Pan American Health Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, the United States Congress, and the United States Senate.

It is also a copy to the Court of Auditors and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate possible crimes committed by the Board of Directors and the current director of the ISSS, in relation to the $ 25 million loan.

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