I did my best at Korle Bu -Frimpong Boateng

Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, May 15, 2009



By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the nation’s premier hospital, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), and the first blackman to undertake a successful heart transplant in sub-Saharan Africa, Professor Dr. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, is obviously not happy with what appears to be a deliberate and calculated attempt by sections of the media to tarnish his reputation.

He said he did not have any intentions whatsoever of descending into the gutters with the papers, since his achievements as CEO of the hospital speaks volumes.

Speaking in an interview with this reporter, Prof. Frimpong Boateng wondered why some Ghanaians took delight in ruining the reputations of individuals in the country.

Frimpong-Boateng, who is the head of the National Cardiothoracic Centre, noted that despite all accusations being made against him, the Ghana Post had crowned his deeds by embossing their newest stamps with a couple of the things he managed to achieve for Korle-Bu during his days as CEO.

He talked of three of the new stamps, which have the embossment of the new Administration Block of the hospital, the Cardiothoracic Center, and the third one which has his own embossment.

After achieving this and other monumental feats for the nation and Korle-Bu, he could not fathom why anybody, or his detractors, would seek to drag his name and reputation into the mud without cause.

He also takes pride in the fact that he has been able to establish a Cardiothoracic Centre which is now recognised by the West African College of Surgeons, for training heart surgeons, cardiologists, cardiac anesthetists, operating room nurses, intensive care nurses, cardiac technicians, and other cardiothoracic technicians.

Newspaper reports had alleged that contrary to the praises heaped on Frimpong-Boateng, for his instrumental leadership in the building of the administrative block for the hospital, the children’s block, which is a few meters close to the administration, was in a deplorable condition, such that between four and five children, and in some cases six, new-born babies share a bed.

It was also alleged that some of the basic necessities like water filters are not available, stressing that the situation at the Surgical Medical Emergency (SME) unit and other departments of the hospital, was more pathetic.

This is what baffles Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s imagination, wondering why such blame could be apportioned to him, when he left office almost two years ago.

In spite of this, the learned doctor has indicated that he was not the least moved by the continuous churning of falsehood by his detractors, to tarnish the image and reputation he has built for himself over the years.

VEEP PROMISES BRIGHT FUTURE FOR GHANA

… Urges Ghanaians to explore oil sector
Posted:The Chronicle | Friday, May 15, 2009



By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Vice President John Dramani Mahama is optimistic of the government’s ability to lift Ghana’s struggling economy from its present state. According to him, they are working hard to reverse what he described as the ‘serious deterioration’ in the economic fortunes that his party inherited.

He gave this assurance in a speech read on his behalf by Trade and Industry Minister, Ms. Hannah Tetteh, at the 15th Anniversary celebration of Strategic Communications Africa (Stratcom Africa) in Accra on Wednesday.

“We are bringing down the huge budget deficit that reached record levels that have never been seen in the Ghanaian economy,” he said.

He believes this can be achieved through austere measures, as announced by Finance Minister, Dr. Kwame Duffuor, in his maiden budget presentation to Parliament.

For this reason, he was confident that his government would be able to bring down the deficit, and restore the health of the economy.

This, according to him, was what would enable local enterprisesto have access to cheaper credit, stressing “the credit needs of smaller scale enterprises, in particular, are occupying centre stage for the government of President Mills.”

He consequently encouraged local enterprises to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the rapidly developing oil and gas industry in Ghana, to better their lot.

“We cannot accept that out of the billions of dollars to be invested in the exploration and development stages of a large project like the Jubilee project, only a small share goes to local enterprises,” he said, and encouraged Ghanaians “to be active in pursuing opportunities in this sector.”

The Vice President, however, had a word of advice for those who may have interests. “We should not do this by being passive fronts or agents for foreign companies. We must work to create local enterprises, even if it is not easy in the beginning.”

That way, he said, the benefits of the country’s natural resources would accrue to its people, and not the foreigners who are descending on the Western Region in their numbers.

Mr. Mahama cautioned foreign partners involved in developing the Jubilee fields, to endeavour to stick to the rules of the game, by strictly conforming to the provisions of laws that were passed in 1980’s by the Provisional National Defdence Council (PNDC) to regulate petroleum exploration, which requires that preference be given to using local goods and services, and that Ghanaians be employed at all levels of the operations, once they have the requisite expertise.

To him, the challenge was for Ghanaians to show their capabilities and exhibit the highest levels of professionalism, whether as welders, rig workers, engineers, financial or administrative staff, in order to lay claim to the job positions that are being created.

On her part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stratcom Africa, Esther Amba Numaba Cobbah, urged her colleagues in the communications industry to rise up to the challenge, to ensure that they scale new heights of effectiveness in what they do.

“As we see with athletes, the raising of the bar inspires people to new levels of effort and achievement. We train harder to make us able to break that old record,” she emphasised.

Through self-discipline and with a sense of responsibility to the nation, she urged her colleagues to rise to new heights of performance.

She identified one of the major challenges in the country’s communications industry, as the rush to produce materials such as brochures, without determining what the real communication need was.

This, according to her, could lead to the wasting of resources, and therefore advised those in the communications industry to device new and innovative methods in meeting the demands of their clients.

Though she admits there have been challenges over the years, the CEO said one thing that kept the company going, was the determination to maintain a good reputation.

Ms. Cobbah took the opportunity to express her profound gratitude to all stakeholders in the industry, especially Stratcom’s numerous clients, staff and the media, for helping to build a brand name for themselves.

Present were government ministers and business tycoons, including Bernard Mensah, a partner of the United Kingdom-based Goldman Sachs, who was the Guest Speaker.

Barbara Sika Baeta, Founder and Managing Director of Flair Catering Services, chaired the programme.

Mills sells Afari Djan abroad

… For keeping Ghana in one piece

Posted: The Chronicle Tuesday, May 12, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

During his recent visit to the United Kingdom, President John Evans Atta Mills hurled praises on the Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Kwadwo Afari Djan, the man credited for holding the country in one piece during the recent general elections.
This was during a meeting with David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party of the UK.
Cameron had commended Prof. Mills and Ghanaians, in entirety, for the way and manner in which the elections were conducted, but in thanking the Mr. Cameron for his kind words, the President singled out Dr. Afari Djan for his sterling performance during and after the elections, stressing that the Commissioner took decisions that were in the best interest of Ghana.
“The Commissioner was firm, and at the times that he needed to take critical decisions, he did not waver,” he noted.
He however commended the entire populace of Ghana for deepening and entrenching the nation’s democracy.
According to him, the majority of Ghanaians wanted a change, and were determined to safeguard their mandate through acceptable channels.
Having invested so much time and effort in the country’s peace and democracy, Prof. Mills noted: “at this point, there is no turning back.”
The leader of the Conservative Party praised Mills for his matured approach to politics, and his open-minded style of governance.
Mr. Cameron said the world was still glued to happenings in Ghana, and commended President Mills’ style of governance.
According to him, Ghana, as a country, had done herself and the continent proud.
With regard to Ghana/UK ties, the leader of the Conservative Party expressed appreciation that the President was making a strong case, not only for government assistance, but for more British entrepreneurs to make Ghana their preferred investment destination.
On the issue of attracting donor support and investments into Ghana, President Atta Mills said that as a government that was anchored to the tenets of social democracy, it was his prime concern to make sure that his government invests heavily in social intervention programmes, hence his unrelenting approach to seeking the needed funds to execute his agenda.
“At the end of my term, I will be judged by the extent to which my team has been able to improve the standard of living of the people of Ghana, and not by any other yardstick, and so I am committed to nothing, but building a Better Ghana,” the President noted.
President Mills congratulated David Cameron for the leadership role he was playing in the British politics.