Prof. Frimpong-Boateng

With the greatest respect and special permission from my colleague journalist and Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu Constituency in the Northern Region, Honourable Alhassan Bashir Alhassan Fuseini, popularly known as A.B.A. Fuseini, who is imbued with hilarious adages that can even resurrect the dead, I quote this adage from his rep­ertoire to buttress my point and set the record straight. “When you have cotton wool on your anus, you don’t have to jump a fire; otherwise, you will set yourself in flames and burn to ashes”. Similarly, there is another saying that says, “When you stretch and push a person firmly against a wall, he will eventually explode when he manages to extricate himself “.

PROFESSOR FRIMPONG-BOATENG

Such is the case of a cool and collected Professor Kwabena Frim­pong-Boateng, one of Ghana’s fore­most and finest heart surgeons of international repute and the brain be­hind the establishment of the National Cardiothoracic Centre, situated at the country’s largest health facility, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. The learned professor was a one-time former Minister of Environment, Sci­ence and Technology in the first term of the current administration led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

I have known this great and knowl­edgeable professor for many years, dating back to the days when I was a senior reporter with the state-owned Ghanaian Times newspaper. Since I was then reporting and writing on health issues, I came into contact with this nice medical officer and international surgeon when he set foot in Ghana in 1992 to set up the prestigious Cardiology Centre at Kor­le-Bu. At that time, there was no such facility in the country, so his aim was to establish the centre to carry out various heart surgeries and also to train young surgeons in that particular field.

HOW PROF. CAME TO GHANA

Professor Frim­pong-Boateng, as I know him, is such an objective and prin­cipled man who believes in the truth, abhors lies, and is forthright and resolute in his actions and dealings with peo­ple and patients as well. He came to Ghana from Germany, where he had been practic­ing medicine for many years, through the instrumentality of the late former President, Flt-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings. He performed the first open-heart surgery in Ghana using a heart-lung machine.

For the benefit of my readers, patrons, and the younger ones who do not know this great man who has a lot under his sleeves, I will like to use this medium to enlighten them on a little background of Professor Frimpong-Boateng, who has been my good friend for many years. We are still friends, although it has been a long time since I came into contact with him.

WORKING EXPERIENCE OF THE LEARNED PROF

The learned professor joined the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) as a lecturer in 2000 and was promoted to Associate Professor the same year. He was made a full pro­fessor in 2002 and served as the Head of the Department of Surgery at the UGMS prior to his appointment as the Chief Executive of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in that same year. It may interest my readers to know that during his tenure at Ghana’s largest and foremost hospital, Pro­fessor Frimpong-Boateng managed to transform Korle-Bu into a first-class and modern hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa. His greatest exploits encour­aged patients from Africa and beyond to travel to Ghana to seek medical attention at Korle-Bu. This man was able to reclaim most of the Korle-Bu lands, including that of the medical school, which were encroached upon by squatters, and built a fence around them. The entrance to the hospital was given a tremendous facelift by this man with offices and packing lots.

Professor Frimpong-Boateng was elected to the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in December 2002, and he gave his inaugural lecture the following year. He was instrumental in the formation of the Ghana Heart Foundation, a charitable foundation that is responsible for paying for heart surgery for some indigent Ghanaians under his care. The finest surgeon felt that “he has what it takes to lead this country to the highest pedestal when it comes to politics” and, therefore, decided to offer himself in the presi­dential primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

POLITICAL CAREER OF PROF

In March 2006, he announced his intention to seek the nomination as the candidate of the NPP for the December 2008 Presidential Election, but his hope was dashed as Nana Akufo-Addo emerged victorious in the primaries. When Nana Akufo-Addo finally became president in the 2016 General Election, he appointed Pro­fessor Frimpong-Boateng as a Cabinet Minister in charge of Environment, Science and Technology. It was during the first term of President Akufo-Ad­do that the illegal small-scale mining popularly known as “galamsey” took on a different dimension, which led to the formation of a special inter-min­isterial committee led by Professor Frimpong-Boateng to see how the situation could be brought under control.

ILLEGAL SMALL-SCALE MINING

As hard as he tried, the situation got out of hand because, as he al­leged, certain personalities within the Akufo-Addo-led government were hav­ing underground dealings with face­less people involved in the galamsey business. At a point, he (Prof. Frim­pong-Boateng) was implicated as hav­ing diverted some seized excavators and other machines that were seized by the taskforce. He flatly denied that, and this had been a subject of contention until this time. He rather accused a number of high-profile per­sonalities within government circles, including Gabby Otchere-Darko, a leading member of the NPP, of being behind the illegal galamsey business in the country. He said Gabby interfered in his galamsey fight to rid the system of these nation-wreckers. Since then, there has been banter between Gabby and Profes­sor Frimpong-Boateng on this thorny issue, which has polluted our water bodies, destroyed our forest cover, and had a devastating effect on the country’s ecology.

CALL FOR THOROUGH INVESTIGATION

Professor Frim­pong-Boateng has since submitted a paper on his allegations to the Presidency for thorough investigations into the matter so that those mentioned in his report can be interrogated to establish the truth and deal with the matter accordingly. It is the hope of every Ghanaian that this particular case should be thor­oughly investigated, not swept under the carpet as in most cases.

This illegal small-scale mining issue has dragged on for some time now, and it looks as if there is no solution in sight. The eminent chief and tradi­tional ruler, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, has been vocal about this unhealthy situation and has gone to the extent of warning some of his sub­chiefs who are deeply involved in this treacherous and devasting business to refrain from the practice. Clearly, it is emerging that there are government functionaries who are deeply involved in this galamsey business, and we need to expose them.

POLITICAL OFFICE HOLDERS TO NOTE

Professor Frimpong-Boateng, who is a staunch member of the ruling NPP administration as I know him, will not fabricate and peddle lies against his own party functionaries and appoin­tees just for the sake of it. He is so principled and will never tread on that path of lies and untruth. That is why this matter should engage the attention of the prosecuting agencies to deal with the case independently for the truth to prevail.

This is a lesson to all political appointees and office holders in the country: they cannot suppress the truth and go scot-free because they will one day be exposed and dealt with accordingly.

By Charles Neequaye

Contact email/WhatsApp of author:

ataani2000@yahoo.com

0277753946/0248933366