Heal Komfo Anokye Project Registered by Private Persons Who Refuse to Account and Hand Over to KATH

The Heal Komfo Anokye Project, an initiative launched by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to raise $10 million for the renovation of Ghana’s second-largest referral hospital, has been registered as a private company by individuals with no formal authorisation from the hospital’s board — and those individuals are now refusing to account for or hand over the project to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Launched in November 2023, HeKAP was conceived to address decades of infrastructure decay at KATH, where some blocks had not seen major renovation in nearly 70 years. Tens of millions of cedis have been raised through donations from state agencies, private companies, Members of Parliament, ministers of state, and the then Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. Approximately GH₱50 million has been spent on the project, with about GH₱13 million still owed to contractors.

However, an investigation by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, supported by an official audit, has revealed serious irregularities that auditors warned could undermine “donors’ trust and confidence.” The issues range from procurement failures and missing receipt pages to a fundamental dispute over who owns the project.

The foundation managing HeKAP donations, the Heal Komfo Anokye Hospital Foundation, was registered at the Registrar of Companies by two individuals: Samuel Adu Boakye, a journalist with Kessben FM in Kumasi, and Kojo Darko Asante, a chief architect at the Public Works Department in the Ashanti Region. Neither man is linked to KATH, and neither has been authorised by the hospital’s board and management to run the project or receive donations on KATH’s behalf.

Auditors noted that during their review, “no Memorandum of Understanding between Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Heal Komfo Anokye Project was seen.” Without such an agreement, they observed, “the legal and operational activities and structure of HeKAP remained unclear” and “the ownership of properties and exchange of sensitive information could not be controlled.”

The timeline raises further questions. HeKAP was officially launched on November 10, 2023, but the private company incorporated to manage it was not registered until March 25, 2024 — four months later. Yet bank accounts were opened and donations were being collected within days of the launch, raising the question of how banks permitted accounts for a company that did not yet legally exist.

When the KATH board wrote to HeKAP’s managers in July 2025, demanding accountability and a handover, Mr Adu Boakye responded in writing that the project “was launched and is being implemented by the Heal Komfo Anokye Hospital Foundation, a private corporate entity” and that “HeKAP has never been a KATH-initiated project.”

That claim is contradicted by multiple sources. Former KATH CEO Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah described himself as the “visioner” of HeKAP, saying he conceived the idea before his appointment and set it in motion after raising the hospital’s infrastructure crisis with Otumfuo. Dr K.K. Sarpong, the former GNPC CEO, confirmed that KATH management members — not private individuals — approached him with the concept.

Professor Addai-Mensah, who was listed as a signatory to HeKAP’s bank accounts, repeatedly refused to say whether the donations were public or private funds when pressed during an interview, despite the question being posed 14 times.

The audit management letter identified further concerns: no documented procurement policy, no written contracts, missing receipt leaflets, and no register of valuable documents. HeKAP management attributed many of these lapses to “the inexperience of the cashier engaged during the early phase of the project” and the informal nature of initial operations.

According to sources close to Manhyia Palace, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II requested the audit and is scheduled to meet with the HeKAP committee and stakeholders upon his return from abroad to discuss the findings and determine the project’s future. The Asantehene’s involvement lends weight to expectations that accountability will be enforced, but the standoff between private registrants and the hospital’s board raises broader questions about how charitable health initiatives are governed in Ghana.

Image Source: MYJOYONLINE