Asantehene called upon to intervene in KATH maternity block demolition decision

Former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Obuasi Kwasi Ofori Agyeman has called on the overlord of Ashanti Kingdom to intervene and ensure an independent probe into the proposed demolition of the 45-year-old abandoned Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).

The former government appointee believes relying solely on the counsel of the resident engineer and consultants of the project to pull down the building may mislead the general public, hence the immediate intervention of the Asantehene to employ independent forensic audit on the structural integrity to clear all doubts and ensure broader consultation.

This comes on the back of advice by the contractors of the project, ordering the demolition of the entire project due to structural defects developed over time since.

Speaking on Akoma FM’s morning show GhanAkoma, Zuba, as he is popularly known, wondered “why the project consultant will look unconcerned for the president and the Ashanti King to cut sod for the reactivation of the abandoned project and later advise for it to be pulled down?”
He maintained that the involvement of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will shield the project from any partisan politics that may have surround the decision to pull it down.

“If we really want to get to the bottom of this issue, there has to be a swift intervention from the Ashanti King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, with his involvement. We the politicians will not attach our interest to the issue and I believe whatever shrouded secrets will come to light. So, I will strongly appeal to the King to step his foot on this issue to bring a long lasting solution.”

On Friday, May 15, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo together with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II cut sod to reactive works on the 800-bed capacity Mother and Baby Unit at the Hospital that has been abandoned for over four decades.