Allied Health Council Registrar accused of abuse of office

There is trouble brewing at the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) over allegations of abuse of office by its acting Registrar, Dr Clement Opoku-Okrah.

Since assuming office in July 2014, Dr Opoku-Okrah has had his term stigmatised in allegations of illegal issuance of contracts and misuse of the council’s logo for private business.

A document whose copy the Daily Graphic has for instance, showed that the AHPC Registrar was alleged to have given out a contract for the renovation of the council’s offices without following due procurement processes or being given approval by the board of directors.

He has also been implicated in the use of the AHPC’s logo to transact private business, including printing souvenirs without approval by the board in 2015.

Some health professionals have also raised issues over his dual role as a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and registrar of AHPC, saying the situation caused delays in the processing of their certificates after completion of their courses.

Following the grievances, members of staff of the AHPC petitioned the Board of the Council to look into the allegations.

Investigations

After six months of fact finding, an investigative body that was constituted by the board presented its findings.

According to the content of the report, a copy of which the Daily Graphic has, Dr Opoku-Okrah was asked to halt the contract he had issued for renovation of the council’s offices.

He was also found to have illegally used the logo of the council for which reason the investigative body recommended that the sale of the souvenirs be put on hold.

However, following the change in political administration, the board which constituted the investigative body has been dissolved.

Rebuttal

When Dr Opoku-Okrah was contacted for his response, he conceded that those issues had been raised against him but said the investigative body had no legal mandate.

“The allegations are untrue and frivolous. The recommendations by the so-called investigative body cannot be binding on me because the board did not even discuss it before it was dissolved.”

“Even though I was given a copy of the committee’s report, I do not know its content because I did not read it,” he said when asked if he had complied with the recommendations by the committee that investigated the issues.

“As far as I am concerned, the chairperson of the AHPC board, Dr Angela Amedo, stabbed me in the back because I told her about my decision to use the council’s logo to print souvenirs for an upcoming induction service,” he said.

Efforts

Efforts made by the Daily Graphic to get a response from Dr Amedo and the Ministry of Health (MoH) have not been successful.

After several efforts, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the MoH also failed to respond to the issues.

Furthermore, Dr Amedo did not also answer questions forwarded to her on the matter.
 
AHPC

The AHPC is a body established by an Act of Parliament (Act 857, 2013) to regulate the training and practice of Allied Health Professionals in Ghana. As part of its mandate, the council is responsible for granting professional accreditation to all allied health programmes and ensuring the highest standards in the practice of allied health in Ghana.

Among other functions, the AHPC has the mandate to determine in consultation with the appropriate educational institution, courses of instruction and practical training for allied health professionals.

It is also charged with the responsibility to conduct licensing examination for the registration of allied health professionals in the country.