… Fmr. Health Minister, Yieleh Kyereh, Allegedly Masterminded the Fraud
The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has again been saved, through the ingenuity of some members of the Korle-Bu Board from yet, another serious and gargantuan scandal masterminded by the immediate past Minister for Health Yieleh Kyereh, and supported by the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital Prof. Otu Nartey and the Board Chairman Rev. Prof. Seth Andrews Aryeetey.
Available information has it that some members of the Korle-Bu board including Madam Stella Quaye stood against the decision by the C.E.O to engage the International Business Group (GH.) limited (IBG) in a drug purchasing contract. This contract according to sources will cost the hospital billions of Ghana Cedis if the agreement was to go through.
The contract which is an offer of a short-term financing package for drug procurement at the hospital was believed masterminded by the immediate past Health Minister and supported by the CEO, but have been sharply abrogated when the board found some content of irregularities that will cost the hospital huge sums of money.
A document in the possession of The Ghanaian Trust Newspaper has it that the CEO, Prof. Nartey had engaged International Business Group (GH.) limited, a commodity and logistics company for the contract without first consulting the Board.
However, the company on July 15, 2009 presented its proposal to offer short-term financing package for drug procurement at Korle-Bu in pursuant to the meeting the company had with the CEO on July 3, 2009.
The proposal sought to suggest that the operations of the Pharmacy Unit of the hospital have been limited by inadequate working capital, compelling the Unit to purchase from middle-level suppliers. It has also sought to suggest that this problem has stifled the hospital’s inability to optimise its potential capacity and capability and hence the need for IBG to come in.
Per the contract proposal, IBG was to offer a comprehensive financing package to a credit limit of US$4.5 million on revolving basis every year to KBTH under a tripartite financing partnership involving IBG, KBTH and the Suppliers.
Meanwhile KBTH will be responsible for the payment of duties, handling charges, local transportation charges as well as insurance for all drug imports, and will also ensure that adequate funding of the bank account into which the hospital will utilize the financing package, by assigning not less than 50% of payment proceeds from the NHIS and paid into that account.
This paper has gathered that, good as the contract may sound, the proposal was put before the Board for discussion and approval when a heated debate ensued among members of the board in relation to the role KBTH had to play in the whole transaction.
It also came up at the meeting that a very vital part of the document (3.0 – 4.0) had been removed from the document to the amazement of some Board members who raised questions on the fee KBTH was to pay for this service.
Investigations have proven that, there had been a deliberate attempt on the part of the C.E.O to remove the part of the document which stated the fee he had unilaterally decided with the company to pay for its services, when he had meetings with the company.
Part of the removed portion of the document reads, “3.0 Fees; IBG will charge a commission of 2.5% of the annual turnover to cover its administrative overheads and other costs relating to activities for the implementation of the financing package.”
“KBTH will also be responsible for the payment of all bank charges other than interest rates for all transactions connected with the financing package.”
Further checks conducted have revealed that, some members of the board persistently demanded to know the cost involved when later, the removed part was brought to be attached to the original document presented at the board meeting.
Members of the Board including Madam Stella Quaye, this paper has gathered, were very instrumental in kicking against the whole contract because the commission charged on the contract was too exorbitant.
The Ghanaian Trust has also gathered from some members of the board that when the members raised questions on the whole contract, the CEO categorically told members that, “It was the Honourable Minister (Yieleh Kyereh) who pushed this whole thing around our neck.”
Members of the board also held the view that, KBTH operates several bank accounts at different banks and could not comprehend why management of the hospital will not contact their bankers for such assistance, even though the banks were willing to finance their operations.
It has also been revealed that the board members who kicked against the IBG and KBTH contract believed that the hospital would be saving billions of Ghana Cedis and so the decision to abrogate that contract.
Meanwhile, in a telephone conversation with the CEO, he agreed to having taken decision to contract IBG for such service, but that the contract was cancelled because the hospital had taken a decision to deal directly with the supplier company.
