PAC orders Korle Bu CEO to refund GH¢113,000 over judgment debts

The committee gives a 90-day deadline after the hospital fails to recover funds.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Yakubu Seidu Adam, to refund GH¢113,000 to the state within 90 days. The order comes after the hospital failed to recover the amount from staff whose negligence led to two costly judgment debts.

The first case involved the death of a patient caused by an overdose of medication, while the second stemmed from a mix-up of mortal remains, which resulted in the exhumation and reburial of a body. Both incidents compelled the hospital to pay compensation.

During proceedings, Ranking Member Samuel Atta-Mills reminded the CEO of earlier recommendations to ensure accountability. “We recommended that the Acting Chief Executive Officer should recover the total amount of GH¢113,000 from the officers whose negligence occasioned the payment of judgment debt, and the same be paid into the Auditor General’s Recoveries Account at Bank of Ghana, failing which the Acting Chief Executive Officer should pay. Have you done that?” he asked.

Dr. Adam conceded that the funds had not been recovered, saying, “Hon. Chair, we haven’t done that,” before attempting to explain the delay.

Mr. Atta-Mills swiftly cut in to stress accountability and issued a firm ultimatum: “Our Chief Executive Officer, we give you 90 days to pay this 113,000.”

The directive, PAC members noted, signals the committee’s determination to enforce financial discipline in public institutions and ensure that negligence leading to judgment debts does not burden the taxpayer.