A renowned lawyer in the Ashanti region is holding the Chief Executive of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital’s (KATH) feet to fire, with a petition for the removal of Prof. Otchere Addai Mensah from the Heal Komfo Anokye project.
Kwame Adofo, amongst other allegations, is accusing the KATH CEO that, “On 14 August, 2023, the same Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah, as CEO of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital again signed a cheque with NO; 220953 in the sum of One hundred and Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc 120,000). The narration written on the PV is recorded as “being funds released to arrange and facilitate meeting with Key Leadership of health in Accra”.
Dated 12 February, 2024, the lawyer alleged in the petition that “The involvement of Prof. Addai-Mensah as part of the “Heal Komfo Anokye” is a cause for the great King to urgently set up a Committee to audit the amount collected so far, and the procurement processes that was followed in the various contracts that have been undertaken so far. 1 am deeply concerned that the said Prof. Addai-Mensah’s involvement with the project will do more harm than good as he clearly not a person of good character
Read below the entire petition:
HIS MAJESTY OTUMFUO OSEI TUTU II
ASANTEHENE, MANHYIA PALACE
KUMASI-GHANA
PETITION FOR THE REMOVAL OF PROF. OTCHERE ADDAI-MENSAH FROM HEAL KOMFO ANOKYE PROJECT
I am respectfully writing this petition for the removal of Prof. Otchere Addai Mensah from the Heal Komfo Anokye project. The basis of the petition is that the said Prof. Addai-Mensah is not a person of good character who is fit and proper person to be associated with the good name of the Great King.
Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah is the current Chief Executive Officer of Komfc Anokye Teaching Hospital. He assumed office as the Chief Executive Officer n or about December, 2022. However, since his assumption of office, he has misappropriated funds of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and also flouted the procurement laws severally,
On 4th July, 2023 the Chief Executive Officer signed a cheque in the sum of One Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHe 100,000) on a cheque with No: 20588. The Payment Voucher (PV) recorded the money was for “being funds for preparation, compilation of Document for critical engagement with National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA)”. However, a search conducted by the Chronicle Newspaper and published on 13 October, 2023 showed that there were no such critical engagements with NHIA. It turned out that he did not use the money for the purpose. I enclose a copy of the publication of the Chronicle Newspaper dated 13 October, 2023.
On the same date, 4th July, 2023, the said Prof. Otcherc Addai-Mensah as Chief Executive Officer of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital signed another cheque in the sum of Eighty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH$80,000) drawn on cheque with No: 220589 with PV No: 0357290 and the PV recorded the moneys were for “being funds for preparation, compilation of Document:’ No such preparation or compilation of documents took place. To date the said Prof, Addai-Mensah has not been able to account for the money.
On 14 August, 2023, the same Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah, as CEO of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital again signed a cheque with NO; 220953 in the sum of One hundred and Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc 120,000). The narration written on the PV is recorded as “being funds released to arrange and facilitate meeting with Key Leadership of health in Accra”.
It turned out that there was no such meeting with Key Leadership of Health in Accra. To date, the said Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah has still not been able to account for the moneys withdrawn from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Account.
All above was reported in the Chronicle on 13t October, 2023, To date, he has not been able to account for the moneys that he has taken from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, especially at the time when Komfo Anokye reaching Hospital is deteriorating because of lack of money. The Great King consequently decided to help raise money to heal Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
More shockingly, it has now been revealed that in addition to the unlawful taking of moneys from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, the Chief Executive Officer of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, in connivance with an employee of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, one, Prince Ankomah Kissi a Deputy Chief Accountant at the Obstetrics & Genecology (O&G) Dept and has been awarding contracts to the said employee, Prince Ankomah Kissi, who is trading under the name of Prinky Star Enterprise, I enclose a search conducted at the Registrar General confirming that the said Prince Ankomah Kissi is trading as Prinky Star Enterprise
1 also enclose some of the contracts signed by the said Prof. Otchere Addai- Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital to the said staff, Prince Ankomah Kissi trading under the name of Prinky Star Enterprise, To date he has granted the said Prince Ankomah Kisi a contract in excess of Three Hundred and Forty Thousand Cedis (GHe340,000).
The granting of contract to an employee is a serious conflict of Interest which is against section 93 of Public Procurement Act (Act 663), and also Article 284 of the 1992 Constitution.
Additionally this is a serious offence under the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Code of conduct, in particular under paragraph 11.11,which amounts to a misconduct under paragraph 7.0 (g), making it a sackable offence under the provision(s) set out in the code of conduct, As evidence that the said Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah is solely responsible for the fleecing of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, when news of the serious conflict of interest in granting contracts to the employee broke, instead of putting the employee before the disciplinary committee and applying sanctions and cancelling the contract, the said Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah in a rather perverse reversal of roles rather supervised the Director of Administration to issue a letter dated 6th November, 2023 as the Chairman of the Evaluation Panel stated at the last paragraph as follows:-” subsequently it is recommended to the supply Chain Management Unit to process your invoices already submitted for payment and to close the books and accounts to your enterprise with the hospital”)See copy of the letter attached.
Prince Ankomah Kissi, as Deputy Chief Accountant at the (0&G) Department is part of Management that makes a decision on what items the Department requires to buy or procure, and for such person to be part of the decision-making process and to set up a trading name and managed to obtain a contract from the hospital to renovate the very Department that he is part of Management is ordinarily the highest form of conflict of interest that makes his position untenable.
But laughably the only punishment meted out to him was a mere warning and subsequent deletion of his trading name from the Hospital’s Suppliers List, when minor offences are required to been treated severely, The Accountant is left off the hook and still remains at the Hospital as the Deputy Chief Accountant of the same (O&G) Department without any punishment. It suggests no other reason than the connivance of the CEO, Prof, Otchere Addai-Mensah.
This is evidence that he conspired with the said employee, which is why he nevertheless went ahead to pay the employee, Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah has connived with the said employee and given him contracts in excess of Three Hundred and Forty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHe340,000) in breach of the Public Procurement Act. What he has done amounts to stealing of Public Funds.
However in other to cover up the stealing going on at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, the said, Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah has contracted a radio presenter in the name of Mr. Kojo Marfo on Abusua FM who has been attacking (disrespectfully) the Board Chairman of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital almost every day designed, or aimed at tarnishing the good image of the venerable Board Chairman Nana Effah Appenteng who is the Paramount Chief of Bompata.
That is, he is using the radio presenter to incite public anger against the venerable Board Chairman and to court public sympathy towards the said Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah to disable the Hospital Board from taking any action on the funds that he has fraudulently taken from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. This is all done in order to cover the rot going on under his tenure. Indeed, it is on record that the said presenter Kojo Marfo previously ran lots of programme with interest on supposed corruption at the hospital. However, since the stories of the Three Hundred Thousand Cedis (GHe300,000.00) and conflict of interest in awarding contracts in the sum of Three Hundred and Forty Thousand Cedis (GHe340.000.00) issues broke out he has never mentioned them on his programme but has rather continued to attack the Board Chairman and other Officials of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital except the CEO, Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah’s involvement with the “Heal Komfo Anokye” Project will be detrimental to the object of healing Komfo Anokye, In fact, he will rather cause more harm to the project.
The involvement of Prof. Addai-Mensah as part of the “Heal Komfo Anokye” is a cause for the great King to urgently set up a Committee to audit the amount collected so far, and the procurement processes that was followed in the various contracts that have been undertaken so far. 1 am deeply concerned that the said Prof. Addai-Mensah’s involvement with the project will do more harm than good as he clearly not a person of good character who is fit and proper to be involved in such a crucial assignment on behalf of the King.
If, however Your Majesty Otumfour wishes to verify the claims 1 am making in this petition, you can set up an audit Committee to check on the claims I am making of the rot going on at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital under this said Prof. Addai-Mensah.
As a citizen of this Kingdom, I feel 1 have an obligation to the Kingdom to inform if I find a person doing a wrong. This is to avoid the “I told you so moment”, after the passage of time.
I hope that Your Majesty will take this petition seriously and immediately remove the said Prof. Addai-Mensah from the *Heal Komfo Anokye” project to avoid irreparable harm to the hospital and to the good name of the King.
I thank you so much for your attention.
Yours, faithfully,
LAWYER KWAME ADOFO
(C/O HOLY TRINITY CHAMBERS)
H/NO.OTB 163 AKYEREMADE ROAD ADUM-KUMASI
Source: thenewcrusadingguideonline.com
