KATH Staff Drags Management To CHRAJ For Blowing COVID-19 Money On CEO’s Cars

An Accountant with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Awuni Akyireba, has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the hospital’s Management’s decision to use COVID-19 donations to buy luxury cars for its CEO and Medical Director.

In the petition, Mr. Akyireba laments that the hospital has spent US$116,000 out of US$120,000 that two philanthropic Ghanaians, footballer, Kwadwo Asamoah and entrepreneur, Osei Kwame Despite, donated to the hospital to fund its COVID-19 response to buy two brand new Toyota Camry vehicles for the CEO and MD.

 “That in spite of the challenges … management has bought two additional luxurious Toyota Camrys of 2020 model for the pleasure and comfort of the CEO, Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso, and the Medical Director, Prof. Baafuor Kofi Opoku,” the petition read in part.

The luxury cars were reportedly purchased although the hospital has been running at a loss and has many infrastructural difficulties including leaking roofs.

Also, both the CEO and MD already have official cars with the CEO assigned an SUV. The petitioner lamented that KATH is saddled with many financial challenges including losses that made it impossible for the hospital to award end-of-year bonuses to its staff in 2020.

“KATH faces a lot of challenges such as inadequate beds that have resulted in deaths of patients….The CEO at a performance review meeting and business meeting of the hospital has stated that all the directorates of the hospital incurred losses in the year…if the hospital made a loss in the year 2020 but management could raise money to buy the two luxurious Toyota Camry cars at a cost of $58,000 each, then it stands to reason that they used the covid19 funds to buy the two cars,” the petitioner surmised.

 Meanwhile, the petition said that the Medical Director, Dr. Kofi Poku has since received the brand new Toyota Camry vehicle, given his official vehicle to his wife to drive and that Mrs. Kofi Poku has since crashed the car in an accident.