Court freezes Korle-Bu account

… Management files for review
Posted: The Chronicle | Monday, July 20, 2009


By Charles Takyi Boadu

Prof. Frimpong Boateng, the former CEO of Korle-Bu

An Accra Fast Tract High Court presided over by Justice Isaac Lartey-Young will today decide whether to lift the embargo placed on the bank account of the nation’s premier health facility - Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), after several months of back and forth movement to settle the impasse amicably.

The court decided to freeze the hospital’s account as a result its inability to comply with orders to issue registered documents covering the payment of some plots of land situated at Oyibi, in the Greater Accra region, to some of its staff.

In the original suit brought by workers of the hospital against their management, they prayed the court to determine whether or not the defendants offered to purchase plots of land at Oyibi for the plaintiffs, whether the defendants asked the plaintiffs to pay for the said land by directing that periodic deductions be made from the emoluments of the plaintiffs until the property was fully paid for, and whether or not the defendants had defrauded the plaintiffs.

It further prayed the court to ascertain whether or not the defendants are liable to the plaintiffs for the provision of the land and whether or not the defendants are immune from prosecution for their acts.

However, in its judgement of December 18 2008, the court ordered the defendants - Korle-Bu, to ‘issue plaintiffs with the registered documents covering the plots of land they had paid for within two months.’

It also ordered the hospital to put the individual plaintiffs in possession of the plots of land, stressing that ‘if the defendant is unable to comply with the first two orders then it shall refund to plaintiffs the monies paid for the land.’

The hospital’s management did not comply with the court’s orders within the stipulated two months. The inability of the hospital management to meet the court’s order is what compelled the presiding judge to freeze its bank account in order to assess the amount of money it holds in its chest, if it would be able to meet the refundable cost involved.

This was after the court gave its ruling on the case, in which over 446 of the hospital’s staff, including one Dr. R.B.K Abraham, sued the hospital and its management for their inability to issue them with registered documents covering the said land.

In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs, represented by Accra-based legal practitioner, Mr. Kakra Essamuah, accused management of dilly-dallying with them over the issuance of the registered documents of the land, though they had dully paid for it.

The case of the plaintiffs was that somewhere in 2004 there was a publication in the hospital’s bulletin that a tract of land had been secured at Oyibi to be allocated to staff for housing projects.

The publication thus asked interested persons to register with a committee named -‘The Korle-Bu Land Administration Committee’, formed to implement the decision of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Board.

The plaintiffs, therefore, registered their names by showing interest in acquiring portions of the said land. Payment was to be made from the Additonal Duty Hours Allowances (ADHA) paid to the staff. The total payment for each plot of land was GH¢ 1,200 and the deposit was made by Korle-Bu Hospital on behalf of the plaintiffs.

It was also published in the ‘Daily Graphic’ of Thursday, August 16 2007, captioned ‘Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s revolution at Korle-Bu’. The Professor, who was then the Chief Executive recounted his achievements and future plans.

Two paragraphs stated that -‘conscious of the key reasons for the exodus of health professional, especially nurses of the hospital, management purchased 1,000 plots of land for staff on hire purchase basis, and the beneficiaries have already paid for their plots. The hospital is also exploring the possibility of finding owners of this plot to put up their houses for them.’

The deposit was paid by the management committee and the ADHA was used to recover the payment. The plaintiffs completed their payment and the committee organised some groups of the plaintiffs to visit and inspect the land, which they had approved.

Some of the plaintiffs corroborated the evidence and tendered receipts for the payment of the land, as well as a copy of the ‘Korle-Bu Bulletin’, showing photographs of some of the staff who visited the land, and also a letter of appreciation to the defendants.