Auditors in the northern region describe media reports of recommending prosecution of Tamale Teaching Hospital CEO&others as absurd and malicious
The Northern Regional branch of the Ghana Audit Service has debunked media reports by an Accra based radio station, Joy Fm, that the 2015 Auditor General’s report has recommended the prosecution of the Chief Executive Officer and some senior staff of the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
Speaking to Zaa News on condition of strict anonymity, a senior staff at the Northern Regional Audit Service described the reportage as false, malicious and mischievous.
The officer explained that when an observation is made during the auditing of an institution, the observations are sent to the institution for its verification.
According to him, when the audit service is not satisfied with the verification or response from the institution, it sends the report back giving the client of the institution in question more time to verify the observations made by the audit service.
The official explained that they are surprised at Joy Fm’s source of information because he was part of the team that audited the Tamale Teaching Hospital and no such recommendation was made.
“As far as I am concerned, I did not make any recommendation of that nature, the Tamale Teaching Hospital is not in my 2015 report, so the report is mischievous and I think someone wants to embarrass me but Insha Allah, that will never happen’’.
He concluded that even when the regional audit service is not satisfied with the response by the institution, after forwarding it to Accra, the Auditor General also gives the institution another opportunity to respond before it goes to parliament. However, when the issues are resolved, they are not captured in the final Auditor General’s report.
Management debunks alleged recommendation to prosecution
The management of the hospital has described the report as untrue and fictional. The TTH in a statement signed by the Director of Medical Affairs, Dr. Abass Adam, and the Acting Public Relations Officer, Misbao Mohammed, said the report is not only baseless and untrue but also very malicious and concocted to tarnish the hard-won reputation of the hospital and its management.
”The Tamale Teaching Hospital is a public health facility and as such complies with the provisions of the public procurement Act,” the statement added.
It further explained that there is no such report as Auditor General’s report for 2015. Besides, the document that is purported to be the 2015 Auditor- General’s report is a preliminary observation by the Regional Audit team and as protocol demands the hospital will have to respond to them.
The statement explained that it is surprising that a media house like Joy Fm did not do due diligence, that is discuss the issue with any member of the hospital’s management team before airing the story.
They concluded that, it is their conviction that the statement will set the records straight and also urged the general public to disregard the reports and has assured its clients that, the Tamale Teaching Hospital will always work in their interest to ensure continuity of service.
By Kwame Tamakloe/Zaaradio.com