[ 2015-04-28 ]

NDC Breaks KATH Over 1m Votes
THE RULING National Democratic Congress’ (
NDC’s) plan to garner at least one million votes
in the Ashanti Region at all cost during the 2016
general elections to enable it remain in office is
destroying the hitherto smooth administrative
system at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital
(KATH) in Kumasi.

The Mahama-led government’s purported political
interference being unleashed on Ghana’s second
leading teaching hospital over appointment to
senior management positions is said to be
grounding KATH’s administrative flair and
undermining staff morale.

Currently, there is reported tension among the top
echelon of the hospital’s administrative body
over the appointment of an acting director of
administration without recourse to the appropriate
procedure.

DAILY GUIDE’s investigations have uncovered a
clandestine attempt by the government to push a
junior officer of the hospital identified as
George Kofi Tetteh, who is a known NDC strongman,
to replace Isaiah Offeh Gyimah, the Director of
Administration, who acted recently as chief
executive.

The government’s clandestine agenda was first
communicated by the former Chief of Staff, Prosper
Bani, who wrote a letter dated October 10, 2014 to
remove Mr Offeh Gyimah and replace him with George
Kofi Tetteh.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that a few weeks ago, Johnson
Asiedu Nketia, NDC general secretary, dashed to
Kumasi purportedly to strategise for the one
million votes.

Even the appointment of the current CEO of the
hospital, Dr Joseph Akpaloo, is laden with
suspicion since he was not appointed by the Public
Services Commission but rather by executive fiat
from the presidency at a time public advertisement
had been put out.

While in Kumasi, the NDC chief scribe was said to
have met with the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief
Executive (MCE), Kojo Bonsu, and some heads of
department at KATH during which issues of
resources were allegedly discussed for political
gains towards achieving the one million votes
target.

Sources close to the hospital hinted that at the
meeting, the KATH CEO, Dr Joseph Akpaloo,
reportedly suggested that the only way to support
the party’s plan was to replace some sensitive
position holders in the hospital, particularly the
director of administration, who is in-charge of
resources and the director of finance.

Shortly after the meeting, President John Dramani
Mahama was reportedly briefed about the idea
during his recent visit to Kumasi, after which the
Health Minister, Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, was asked
to write to George Kofi Tetteh to assume his duty
as the acting director of administration.

The appointment letter, dated April 13, 2015 and
signed by the health minister, indicated that
Isaiah Offeh Gyimah, who the minister described as
ailing, should report to the ministry for
reposting.

The minister, however, did not disclose the exact
place where Mr Offeh Gyimah, who acted as the CEO
of the hospital prior to the appointment of Dr
Akpaloo, would be working.

Meanwhile, DAILY GUIDE has learnt that Dr Akpaloo,
with the support of the KATH Board chairman, had
issued an internal memo, enforcing the decision of
the minister without approval by the entire
Board.

It is feared that should this illegal appointment
go through, other senior management positions
including finance, medical affairs and pharmacy,
would be the next targets.

But the KATH staff have resolved to make the place
ungovernable, should George Kofi Tetteh’s
appointment succeed.

The government’s actions are said to contravene
the tenets of the governing Board of the hospital,
the Public Service Commission and Act 525 which
set up the teaching hospitals.

Observers are concerned that the illegal removal
of Offeh Gyimah from office could land the
hospital in another judgment debt.

It would be recalled that the wrongful dismissal
of Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, a former CEO of KATH by
his predecessor, Prof Ohene Adjei, led to a
judgement debt of GH¢750,000 in favour of the
hospital.

Currently, KATH is said to be in a critical
financial distress, making it difficult to pay its
creditors and meet other financial commitments.

Source - Daily Guide

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