The Ministry of Health has issued a set of guidelines calling on referral hospitals and health centres to provide increased documentation of their expenses with an aim of introducing more “transparency” to official spending.

The letter, dated May 23 and signed by Health Minister Mam Bunheng, calls on health care providers to provide more thorough accounts of spending for administrative costs, “emergency rescue” (particularly fuel for ambulances), small equipment and day-to-day supplies, and “measures aimed to boost the quality of health services”.

“For operations listed in the above targets, there must be sufficient and accurate legal documents, which include: spending request cards, spending cards, receipts, and other documentary evidence as a foundation for listing, reports and auditing,” the letter reads.

The admonishment came less than a week after evidence of widespread graft pertaining to fraudulent travel expenses at the National Malaria Centre, a branch of the Health Ministry, was made public by a Post investigation.

However, the letter makes no mention of travel, aside from gasoline. Ministry of Health spokesman Ly Sovann could not be reached for comment.