The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) is demanding an immediate release of findings by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on the fire outbreak that destroyed the Central Medical Stores at Tema in 2015.
The devastating fire, which caused the loss of medical supplies valued at $80 million, is suspected to have been an act of arson.
Nearly nine years later, no one has been prosecuted or held accountable, even after EOCO’s investigation concluded.
The Executive Director of ASEPA, Mensah Thompson, addressing the media, called on EOCO to immediately release the investigation report and take immediate steps to arrest and prosecute those implicated.
“We demand the immediate release of the 2015 Central Medical Stores fire investigation and other related corruption investigations of EOCO in the Central Stores fire and we shall be filing an RTI request to demand the immediate release of the report to the public.
“We also demand the immediate arrest of all persons indicted in the fire, including Romeo Caleb Kofi Tetteh.
“Again, we shall be filing a petition with the Officer of the Special Prosecutor to commence investigation and prosecution into this matter. We are also demanding the Ministry of Health release the Sputnik V investigation report”.
The Central Medical Stores contained every conceivable drug imported into the country, including drugs for deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and Ebola.
A committee established to investigate the case cited arson and named Samuel Dogbe, a labourer at the Medical Stores as the culprit.
In 2016, 12 officials of the Ghana Health Service who were also accused of playing various roles in the arson were also interdicted.
The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu said despite the probe by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) now the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB)(NIB), there has been no prosecution because of the delay in the forensic audit.
In August 2019, it emerged that authorities at the Central Medical Stores spent GHc300,000 of drug funds on the payment of rent for the temporary Central Medical Stores at Spintex.
This was after a report by the Auditor-General on alleged misapplication of drug funds contrary to Regulation 179 of Financial Administration Regulations, 2004.
The report stated that the amount was paid to P.S.B Realty Company Limited in March 2017.