There are growing public complaints that the local levels of Okhaldhunga district have misused COVID-19 management funds. 

The local levels which had set up separate funds for the prevention and control of coronavirus have spent the public money on internal management and staff allowance rather than on the concrete measures against coronavirus. 

Some 71 staffs of Manebhanjyang rural municipality have received allowance amounting to Rs 1.58 million for their service during COVID-19 time. Manebhanjyang rural municipality which spent over Rs 3.85 million on coronavirus prevention had mobilised Rs 291,850 in canteen construction and Rs 478,876 in the procurement of medical appliances. 

Likewise, Khijidemba rural municipality has spent a budget of Rs 9 million in the early four months of the pandemic. They had spent over Rs 8.94 million in prevention of the virus. The municipality had also channelised Rs 1.13 million to provide risk allowance to 350 employees. 

All the health workers and some employees mobilised in the rural municipality were provided with 50-100 per cent allowance for their engagement in risk management. 

Despite having a structure including people’s representatives, employees, health workers and volunteers, Rs 753,131 has been spent on the remuneration of information facilitators for the prevention of the virus.

Some 18 information facilitators were mobilised for two months in the rural municipality. 

The facilitators were mobilised to identify the status of stranded citizens, collect details of the people with chronic disease in wards and plan the relief distribution, shared Chief administrative officer of the rural municipality, Subash Poudel. 

These are only the representative cases of financial embezzlement taking place in the rural municipalities of Okhaldhunga during the time of COVID-19. Other local levels of the district are also found to have been engaged in misusing off the public money. 

Source: RSS