The National Coordinator for the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has justified the dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), Dr. Adam Atiku, by President John Dramani Mahama, following allegations of negligence and poor hospital administration.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Thursday, April 24, Vanderpuye pushed back against criticism that the dismissal was hasty, stressing that the Health Minister’s decision was grounded in long-standing issues, not just the recent incident that occurred during his visit.
“It doesn’t need 24 hours for a minister to determine whether somebody has been negligent or has been sleeping on his job. The minister’s visit to Tamale Teaching Hospital was not just a knee-jerk reaction.
“He went there to familiarise himself with problems that people have talked about at the hospital.” Vanderpuye stated.
According to sources, the hospital has been grappling with a lack of essential equipment and administrative inefficiencies.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh’s unannounced visit on Tuesday, April 22, exposed troubling conditions firsthand. Vanderpuye confirmed that the minister encountered the incident while at the hospital, not something pre-arranged, validating longstanding reports of poor management.
“That incident was not conjured; he met the incident when he was there. It was not something that was set up for his visit. That was a confirmation of the issues of negligence and lack of good administration and management of the place, which he has consistently been briefed on.”
Vanderpuye argued that the minister’s decisive action reflects responsible governance, not personal animosity toward the dismissed CEO.
“Let us not limit ourselves to the fact that his action was based on the incident that confronted him when he visited the place. When you are assigned executive responsibilities, if he doesn’t take action and something happens, you could also be sacked by the President. The minister’s action was not because he didn’t like the CEO, but persistently, there have been a lot of issues about the management of the hospital,” he added.
However, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has sharply criticised the dismissal of Dr. Adam Atiku, Chief, describing the move as an abuse of power and a violation of due process by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh.
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