Korle Bu Senior Staff Association calls off demo
A planned demonstration by members of the Korle Bu Senior Staff Association (KOSSA) yesterday was called off at the last minute because the management of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) threatened to deal with them.
As early as 7:30 a.m., some members of the association, together with the police, had gathered at the Korle Bu morgue to begin the exercise, only to be told later that the rest could not turn up for fear of victimisation by management and the various departmental heads.
The management of the hospital had earlier sent letters to the various heads of departments threatening members not to embark on the exercise, and stating that the names of persons who would participate in the exercise should be written for the necessary action to be taken against them.
The situation sent shivers down the spine of the workers who decided to pull out at the last hour.
As a result, journalists who turned up in their numbers for the event were disappointed but went to the KOSSA secretariat for briefing.
Why the demonstration
According to top officials of KOSSA, the protest march was part of planned activities meant to send messages to President John Dramani Mahama to dissolve the current board and sack the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital for financial malfeasance and mismanagement of the nation’s premier health facility.
Since the appointment of the new CEO, Dr Gilbert Buckle, and the inauguration of the new board, KOSSA has carried out various protests against management, accusing it of misconduct and financial impropriety.
In less than three weeks, KOSSA pressurised the management to withdraw an interdiction letter served on the President of the association, Mr Charles Ofei-Palm.
According to the association, the letter, which was in reaction to an interview Mr Ofei-Palm granted Class FM, an Accra-based radio station, last month on some happenings at the hospital, was a calculated attempt to put fear in the workers and cripple their freedom.
But members of the association said they would not allow the management to dictate to them.
Demonstration will come on
Later in an interview with the Daily Graphic, the General Secretary of KOSSA, Mr James Clifford Oblitey, said members of the association would not be cowed.
He, therefore, expressed optimism about the protest march, adding, “by Monday we will be writing to the police again for permit and pick it from there.”
Even though Mr Oblitey stated that the management had been notified about the planned demonstration, “it came to us as a surprise for them to tell us we were not supposed to hold the exercise”.
“People are losing trust in Korle Bu due to poor performance these few years by the current management and board,” he said.
