Members of the Korle Bu Senior Staff Association (KOSSA), have expressed their joy at the reinstatement of the Association’s President, Charles Offei-Palm.
Mr Offei-Palm, who was interdicted in April 2016, for allegedly flouting the hospital’s media policy and making some offensive comments against the management of the hospital, was reinstated last month after he was cleared of all allegations by the Ministry of Health.
[contextly_sidebar id=”vPkY1xEeq6GMPMA9DcJjibYlWDZhVG8A”]Addressing the press at a thanksgiving service, Mr. Charles Offei-Palm expressed gratitude to members of the Association for their continuous support and encouragement during his trial period.
According to him, the present outcome was a vindication of his stance for truth and justice.
“We shall be spectators, but gallant citizens and workers of a worthy institution. We, therefore, stand to rejoice with the Lord.”
He further lauded President Akufo Addo and his government for their timely intervention.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and a special commendation to the current Minister of Health, Hon. Agyemang Manu whose intervention has brought us this joy. Indeed, his intervention has also brought hope and we can now see light at the end of the tunnel in Korle Bu and in the Ministry of Health in general. I also say thank you to my able and humble executives who stood with me through this entire struggle.”
Why Offei-Palm sacked
The KOSSA president had accused the management of Korle-Bu of financial malfeasance, an accusation the management has denied.
About ninety percent of the members KOSSA passed a vote of no confidence in the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr. Gilbert Buckle, after accusing him of mismanaging the hospital’s internally generated funds and paying needless judgment debts while neglecting the welfare of staff of the hospital.
Charles Offei-Palm’s subsequent comment on the matter in a radio interview elicited anger from the hospital management who brought a case against him and referred it to the hospital’s disciplinary committee.
The committee decided to sack him in April 2016 after sitting on the case.
The dismissal letter said, “Following your interdiction and non-appearance for the disciplinary hearing, the Disciplinary Committee has proceeded in your absence and found you guilty of the offences leveled against you as per your interdiction letter. Upon the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee, your appointment with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is terminated with effect from 6th April, 2016.”
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By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana