President of Honduras reassures that there will be no tolerance for public or private corruption in handling COVID-19 emergency

Latin America - español

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The Government of the Republic of Honduras

Jul 15, 2020, 22:20 ET

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- President Hernandez reacted to the irregularities found during process for purchasing seven mobile hospitals for attending the pandemic emergency in Honduras, a case that is currently under investigation of the corresponding authorities. "We will not allow anyone to mess around with the health and wellbeing of the people. I am being loud and clear: to all public officials or businesses that pretend to take advantage of the emergency by abusing this tragedy, my government will not tolerate such acts and we will make sure that if it happens, justice will be served at a court of law," emphasized the President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández.

Mobile hospitals became an option for many countries since they come fully equipped with components that were scarce in the international market, such as clinics, laboratories, intensive care rooms and respirators, and protective gear for front-liners, among others. However, the supplier for Honduras case did not comply with the delivery due date and there are doubts about the documentation presented by the provider company. As a consequence, President Hernández has requested to the Prosecutor General Office to open an investigation to get to the bottom of the matter to defend and protect the interest of Honduran people.

"It doesn't matter if it is a national or a foreign company, either they deliver what was paid for or we are going to go to the last consequences to recover legally the money that was paid for the mobile hospitals," stated the President.

He recalled that the government approved a series of provisions and regulations to face COVID-19 in the national territory. "Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have made enormous efforts to acquire medicines and medical supplies to fight the disease, in the middle of a complex situation in which the richest countries have faster and easier access to get supplies in a market full of speculations and conflicts among companies that want to become suppliers of the needed good and services," President Hernández said. "We warned that we aren't going to tolerate mismanagement in the face of the crisis, and everyone is accountable before the law for their own actions, we all have to be accountable for every penny, this applies not only to nationals but to foreigners as well."

President Hernández reiterated once again his commitment to fight corruption and impunity, so transparency prevails.

To guarantee transparency in procurement processes, from the beginning of the health crisis the government invited non-governmental organizations such as Transparency International, National Convergence Forum (FONAC) and FOPRIDEH, to contribute as observers of all the different processes with the purpose of maintaining a sound effective system of national and international oversight.

Last April, the President of Honduras was forceful when he publicly stated that, in the urgency to obtain medicine and medical supplies to face the pandemic, accountability and transparency are mandatory and a top priority.

For more information go to: https://presidencia.gob.hn/index.php/sala-de-prensa

SOURCE The Government of the Republic of Honduras