Board members of the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital are expected to gather at the nation’s second largest facility for medical care in Kumasi, for a crunch meeting in the course of the week.
One of the contentious issues that board members are required to delve into is the circumstances under which a whopping amount of GHS300, 000 (Three Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis) was withdrawn in three tranches from the hospitals’ account at the Fidelity Bank, at Adum, a fashionable suburb of the Ashanti Regional capital, and for what use that quantum of amount was put to.
An official document in the hands of this publication, at the beginning of investigations into the affair, states that the first transaction occurred on July 4, this year.
It was for an amount of GHS100, 000 (One hundred thousand Ghana Cedis) with PV No. 0357289 and drawn on Cheque No. 220588.
The cheque was drawn in the name of Deputy Director of Budget and cashed by one Mr. Seth Adjei Appiah.
The description given to the transaction is: “Being funds for preparation, compilation of Documents for critical engagement with NHIA (National Health Insurance Authority).
The second transaction is dated the same day, July 4, 2023 with PV No. 0357290. It was drawn on Cheque No. 220589.
Deputy Director of Budget is the person whose name was on the cheque. Once more, the withdrawer was listed as Seth Adjei Appiah. The amount involved was GHS 80,000.
It was cashed at the same Fidelity Bank at Adum.
The description given was: “Being funds for preparation, compilation of Documents.”
The third of these controversial withdrawals was effected on August 14, 2023.
GHS120, 000 (One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis) was involved. The payee was Deputy Director of Budget. The amount was drawn on Cheque No. 220953 with PV No. 0426539.
Description given was: “Being funds released to arrange and facilitate meeting with key leadership of health in Accra”.
In all these, The Chronicle established that there were no stake-holders meeting involving Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Accra or Kumasi.
Both the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) head office in Accra and its Regional Office in Kumasi told The Chronicle that there were no strategic meetings in Accra and Kumasi in July and August, involving KATH.
The only stake-holders meeting of that nature, involving KATH, took place barely two weeks ago, long after the controversial cheques had been drawn and cashed, The Chronicle can report.
After persistent enquiries from this outfit, officials of KATH introduced another element into the discussion.
A top official with the mandate to speak on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Otchere Addae-Mensah and Elvis Kusi, Director of Finance, told The Chronicle that some of those expenditures incurred were part of the hospital’s social responsibility activities, like the sponsorship of sporting events, courtesies towards the media and other expenses that could not be couched as such, in official documents.
This assertion has been debunked by officers with inside knowledge of the accounting principles within the second largest facility for medical care in the country.
One official who pleaded anonymity told The Chronicle that: “Under the Public Financial Management Act 2019 (Amended 2020), all institutions must operate from its budget line approved by Parliament, following prior approval by the Hospital Board.”
He said, “The same provisions and other management provisions make the Payment Voucher a statutory legal document that must capture the specific purpose for the payment of any funds.
Thus, any funds released, paid or received, which is not in line with the specific narration or description on the purpose is stolen, misappropriated or misapplied.”
Read the concerned person’s lips: “In this case, the fact that the funds are stolen cannot be contested. This is because the narration/description stated are events that never took place or are completely non-existent in any financial expenditure line in the public sector.”
Seething with anger, our source explained further: “KATH, like any other institution has its budget line for its social and corporate responsibilities expenditures annually and it is applied as approved by the Board and Parliament. These illicit withdrawals are even unknown to the Board,” he told The Chronicle.
Ebo Quansah reporting
