The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra spent more than GHC100,000 on Christmas bonuses for its management and staff members, 3FM investigations have uncovered.

Each staff member received GHC100 as motivation while the management members received a total of GHC17,000 intramural allowance (extra allowances at the discretion of management).

The management members who benefited from the amount included Director of Medical Affairs, Director of Administration, Ag. Director of Pharmacy, Director of Finance, Director of Nursing Services, Ag. Director of General Services and Director of Human Resources. Chief Executive of the Hospital, Dr. Gilbert Buckle, is said to have taken home GHC 21,000.

This comes on the back of the financial constraint of the Hospital which greatly affected the operations of the facility last year due to breakdown of the Intensive Care Unit, the Central Sterile Services Department and the closure of the Eye Clinic.

Bonuses approved for only staff

When contacted on the issue of bonuses, the Board Chairman of the Hospital, Prof Antony Mawuli Sallar, confirmed approval was given for the payment of staff bonuses but not that of management. “I’m highly surprised and would be very disappointed if it’s true because management cannot propose and approve.

I mean in corporate Ghana, such an amount is to come to the board for approval and it looks like it was done at the blind side of us,” he told 3FM.

Prof Sallar said he will initiate investigations into the matter, but expressed doubts the management members would pay themselves such amount without seeking approval from the Board “I doubt but I’m going to call one of them now to verify because there have been some mismanagement acts that we have tried solving before now.

So we are in limbo so we don’t know if we are still a Board, but if we stay, we will call for an audit of the hospitals account,” he assured.