HEADS will roll among Public Health Ministry staffers guilty of abusing international donations and whose departments under-perform forcing chunks of its budget to return annually to the Finance Ministry, a release from the Ministry noted.

According to the release, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence sounded the warning Monday during her feature address at the Maternal and Child Health/Expanded Programme on Immunisation (MCH/EPI) quarterly review meeting at Grand Coastal Hotel, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.

The meeting ends Tuesday. The release noted that Minister Lawrence is outraged that international donations given to boost Guyana’s health sector programme are converted for personal use by health officials. Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Representative Dr William Adu-Krow had earlier complained about the misuse of transportation donated to help the MOPH immunisation programme in the hinterland.

Turning her attention to budgetary initiatives of her ministry, Lawrence told participants at the two-day MCH/EPI review meeting to maximise spending on budgetary initiatives.

“Spend money on that for which it is allocated. If that doesn’t happen somebody will be going home,” Minister Lawrence warned.

She said for that to happen the procurement system must be strengthened and the belated arrival of projects for funding from the 10 Regions has to end.

Lawrence wants officials to examine, critically, “the progress we have made, the challenges we still face and…formulate a comprehensive Action Plan that will be used to overcome the challenges and produce the desirable outcomes.”