Problems with Rawlings’ medical bill

An attempt by the authorities of a prestigious hospital in Berne, Switzerland, to get the Ghana Mission in Geneva to settle an amount of 6,450 Swiss Francs being cost of medical services provided ex-President Jerry Rawlings while he was in office, has hit the wall.

An unhappy highly-placed official of the hospital, The Insel, located in Berne, Switzerland, speaking to The Crusading Guide, on condition of strict anonymity, lamented the apparent failure of the Ghana Mission in Geneva to settle the medical bill of the ex-President despite persistent efforts by the Hospital authorities to get the Mission to pay up. “Our earlier efforts to get the Ghanaian diplomatic authorities in Switzerland to settle the ex-President’s medical bill failed because the Mission could not understand why it should pay for a bill standing in the name of ‘Gyamfi Paul,’ instead of Mr Jerry Rawlings,” disclosed the frustrated official of The Insel hospital.

He said subsequent explanations and clarifications appeared to have convinced the Ghana Mission that ‘Gyamfi Paul’ was the name the ex-President assumed while undergoing the treatment at the hospital. He however, could not explain why the ex-President chose to adopt a ‘false identity’ while receiving treatment.

He revealed that recently the wife of ex-President Rawlings assured the hospital authorities that she was making efforts to get the Ghana Mission to settle the bill. He said the former First Lady had recently checked in at the same hospital, for treatment, and the outstanding bill (in the name of her husband) was inadvertently included in her personal bill, which she had paid.

Mrs Rawlings, he intimated, subsequently indicated to the Hospital authorities that she had contacted the Ghanaian Ambassador in Switzerland, Mr Fritz K. Poku, and explained to him (Ambassador Poku) that the ‘Gyamfi Paul’ expenditure was incurred while Mr Rawlings was in office, and also that some remittances had been made to provide the necessary financial cover for it.

“We also assured her that the necessary reconciliation and refund would be made by the hospital when payment was effected by the Ghana Mission,” observed The Insel hospital official.

The Crusading Guide investigations indicate that the Ghana Mission has since informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) about the matter, and steps are being taken to settle the bill, in order to save the country, from any embarrassment. “The balance of all the remittances that were received by the Mission in 2000 with regards to the said medical treatment were all returned to chest and accordingly lodged in the Mission’s accounts.

In view of this fact the Mission would need appropriate authorisation from the MOFA if any settlement was to be effected on behalf of Mr Rawlings, alias Gyamfi Paul, our diplomatic sources told us. The same sources also said Mrs Rawlings was also advised to request the Hospital to write in detail about the circumstance surrounding the bill under reference, in order to provide an informed basis for appropriate official action on the matter.

Meanwhile, a keen Rawlings-watcher, who preferred anonymity, has queried why the ex-President should have assumed a ‘false Identity’ while undergoing treatment at the Swiss hospital. “I find it intriguing and even suspicious. Why should he choose to assume a new identity? Was it because the ailment he was suffering from was an embarrassing and unprintable one? Or was it for security reasons? Whatever it was, it was improper for the President of a country to approach things in that Nicodemus manner. We need to know more about this matter,” he insisted.