A private legal practitioner, Nana Yaw Osei, has accused the current Chief Executive Officer of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, of stopping the HealKomfo Anokye renovation project launched by the Asantehene.
The HealKomfo Anokye initiative was publicly launched on November 10, 2023, by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II under the leadership of the former KATH CEO, Professor Otchere Addai‑Mensah.
The project aims to raise US$10 million through public fundraising to renovate the hospital’s roughly 70‑year‑old in‑patient wards.
KATH is the main referral facility in the Ashanti Region, serving patients from 12 of Ghana’s 16 regions.
Speaking on the DayBreak morning show on Fakye TV with host Kojo Marfo, Nana Yaw Osei said he condemned the strike action by health staff at the hospital and suggested the suspension of the renovation project was a factor that could justify staff unrest.
“If we are going to strike like they have done, do you remember the HealKomfo Anokye project — a private initiative to renovate some blocks at Komfo Anokye? The chief executive (Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo) has stopped that initiative and halted the renovation,” Nana Yaw Osei told the programme.
When pointedly asked by the host whether he was sure, Nana Yaw Osei replied: “He has stopped the HealKomfo Anokye project… Since he came last year in May until today, no work on the HealKomfo project has continued.”
Nana Yaw Osei explained his view that private individuals were contributing funds and labour to decongest wards and improve working conditions, but those efforts were suspended after the new CEO requested contributors to hand over the work to hospital management.
“I thought if anything would lead health workers to strike, one reason should be this,” he said, adding that the congested facilities were impeding care and the halted renovations removed a potential solution.
The Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, earlier suspended the former KATH CEO, an action that preceded the current unrest among hospital staff.
The HealKomfo Anokye project remains a private‑sector fundraising effort intended to supplement state investment in renovating KATH’s ageing infrastructure.
Source: www.Kumasimail.com
