Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The Honduran covid-19 pandemic continues to record rising data without operating six of the seven mobile hospitals purchased in March-April in Turkey at a cost of $ 47.5 million.
Following the confirmation of the first two cases of covid-19, the state-owned Inversiones Estratégicas de Honduras (Invest-H) made an “emergency purchase”, without a public tender, of seven mobile hospitals between March and April 2020, which were to to operate in the first two July.
But of these structures, which arrived only until July, only one operates, in San Pedro Sula, the second most important city in the country, which has a high incidence of cases of fatal disease.
According to the complaints of the National Anticorruption Council (CNA) and the Association for a Fairer Society (ASJ), among other sources, there was corruption in the acquisition of the seven mobile hospitals.
In addition, in the first two hospitals, which stayed for a few weeks at the National Port Company in Puerto Cortés, it was found that some devices and equipment were used or expired, so the Public Ministry initiated an investigation, which is ongoing.
Of the other five hospitals, two arrived in October and the last three in November 2020, but none works, and as for Tegucigalpa, of the two that arrived in July, until Monday, one was handed over by the intervention commission. . from Invest-H to the Ministry of Health.
According to Gustavo Boquín, one of Invest-H’s auditors, the five mobile hospitals, which will operate in the south, east, west and Caribbean region of the country, will start operating at the end of February, almost a year after their acquisition. .
Various sources agree in pointing out that the irregular purchase of mobile hospitals is another example of the corruption that continues to rage in Honduras. EFE