site.btaHead of Parliament's Health Committee Leaves Legislature amid Mismanagement Scandal

125 - POLITICS - MP - HEALTH CARE - RESIGNATION

Head of Parliament's Health
Committee Leaves
Legislature amid Mismanagement Scandal


Sofia, February 24 (BTA) - The head of the parliamentary health
care committee and former director of the Military Medical
Academy (MMA), Gen. Stoyan Tonev, has resigned from Parliament,
said the GERB press office Tuesday. The decision reportedly
followed a meeting with GERB leader and Prime Minister Boyko
Borissov and comes in the wake of a scandal over hefty losses
that a private medical practice has been generating for years on
the back of MMA not without its former director assistance.

Tonev was also deputy mayor of Sofia in charge of health care
before he was elected to Parliament in 2014 as a candidate of
the ruling GERB.

The scandal over the role of the private medical practice, Derma
Prim, in the MMA flared up after a TV report brought to light a
report from an audit by the Ministry of Defence which revealed
that while Tonev was at the helm of MMA, Derma Prim which was
operating within the MMA dermatology clinic had generated losses
of 10 million leva at the expense of the military hospital.

Tonev has explained that MMA is not allowed to provide
outpatient medical services which is why they needed entities
like Derma Prim.

The founder and main partner in Derma Prim is the head of the
MMA dermatology clinic, Prof. Miroslava Kadourina.

The audit, however, found that the Derma Prim has been using
public resources for private purposes. As the TV report showed,
the dermatology clinics enjoyed preferential treatment by the
MMA management: its shining corridors and state-of-the-art
equipment look a next-generation facility on the backdrop of
other rundown parts of the MMA, including its ear-nose-throat
ward which is known for its cochlear implant surgery on
children.

In his application to leave Parliament, Tonev says that he feels
compelled to come down due to the heightened public interest.
"I believe that this will ensure the independence of the
investigation which the competent authorities have started.
Yesterday [Monday], I personally asked the Prosecutor General
and the head of the National Audit Office to carry out thorough
checks," Tonev writes.

Tonev's alerts to the two institutions ask them to check the
lawfulness of his management of MMA during the period from
August 2002 to January 2015.

The Military Prosecution Office said Tuesday that it has opened
a probe against MMA officials. The probe is for mismanagement
but no charges have been brought as yet. LY/LN