Import Duties Stall ‘Heal Komfo Anokye’ Project

The Heal Komfo Anokye Project aimed at renovating the 70-year-old Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi has suffered a setback following the inability of the project to clear some of the items from the ports.

The consignment of imported tiles meant for the project has been locked up at the Tema Harbour accruing demurrage.

The project is to pay more than GH¢1.7 million in duties to clear 10 containers of tiles meant for the project.

The Heal Komfo Anokye project was launched by the Asantehene, in collaboration with KATH, to raise $10 million to renovate Blocks A, B, C and D of the hospital.

The project was to renovate the almost dilapidated 70-year tertiary facility and also serve as a legacy project for the 25th anniversary of the enstoolment of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

As part of efforts to reduce the cost of the renovation and do much with the money raised, the hospital wrote to the government through the Ministry of Finance to seek a duty waiver on the materials and equipment meant for the project.

The Chairman of the project, Samuel Adu-Boakye, told the Daily Graphic that the Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, had written to the Minister of Finance through the Chief Director to seek a waiver to clear all the goods meant for the renovation from the port.

However, he said for almost two months after the letter was sent, “We are yet to even receive an acknowledgement from the ministry to know that something is being done about the request.”

Mr Adu-Boakye said the project was supporting the government to renovate and maintain the age-old facility and to give it a facelift befitting the status of a tertiary facility.

He explained that the project was seeking financial support from ordinary Ghanaians, philanthropists, corporate organisations and private businesses to do what was supposed to be the government’s responsibility.

“The least we expect from the government is to support our effort with the duty waiver to enable us to complete the project within schedule,” Mr Adu-Boakye said.

Target

Already, he added, the project had not been able to achieve its target of $10 million, saying, “We are currently about 39 per cent of the target in both donation and pledges and using the little we have raised to pay duties would not help the project.”

Mr Adu-Boakye stressed that if the hospital was to pay import duties from the money raised, “the $10 million would not be enough to undertake the project”.

Mr Adu-Boakye, therefore, appealed to the government to assist the project with the waiver of import duties to clear the goods from the port.

He said the project was also seeking the intervention of the Asantehene to, as a matter of urgency, let the political leadership provide their support.

Cost analysis

Mr Adu-Boakye said the Heal Komfo Anokye Project opted to import some of the items for the project due to the price difference and for quality and standard purposes.

Using the tiles as an example, he said the project was saving close to 40 per cent on them if they were to buy them locally.

Besides that, he said some of the items could not be found on the local market and were being sourced directly from the manufacturers to avoid the profit margin that suppliers would have added to it.

However, Mr Adu-Boakye said some of the materials would be purchased locally.

KATH

KATH is the only tertiary hospital in the middle belt of the country and serves patients from about 12 out of the 16 regions. It was built in 1954 and has since not seen any renovation.