By Hou Akot Hou
The Commissioner of Aweil North County in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State has indefinitely suspended four health workers accused of selling drugs from consignments that were meant for local health facilities for a three-month period.
Commissioner Deng Kuel Kuel explained that the suspension is intended to hold the alleged wrongdoers accountable.
“I have instructed the County Health Department Director to suspend the four health workers who went away with supplies meant for the health facilities for three months. I had given them time to return the supplies, but they never did,” said Kuel.
He warned that if the missing drugs are not recovered some reportedly being sold in private pharmacies or markets the State Ministry of Health will take over the matter.
Although he declined to name the individuals, Kuel accused the staff of enriching themselves at the expense of public health.
He further linked the situation to wage delays, blaming the lack of funding from UN agencies such as UNICEF.
“Some of these health practitioners are thinking beyond normalcy. The delay caused by lack of funding from UN agencies like UNICEF is making people act in such awkward ways,” he charged.
The commissioner also refuted claims that he had sold the county’s ambulance, which was designated for transporting patients to the state headquarters during emergencies.
He dismissed the allegation as political, insisting: “The car is in good hands and is at the premises of the Ministry of Health.”
This development follows last month’s reported strike threat by officials from the Northern Bahr el Ghazal Ministry of Health, alongside counterparts from Warrap.
The planned industrial action was quelled after government officials, including the minister, intervened and urged staff to refrain from striking, warning that such action would be disastrous if health workers abandoned their duties.