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Close to two years since the Central Medical Stores, located at the Tema Industrial Area, came under what official report said was an arson attack, the nation is yet know what the Attorney-General is doing about the investigative report which identified 12 people as the culprits, and recommended them for prosecution.

After the National Security had presented an investigative report on the alleged arson, which occurred on January 13, 2015, the Mahama government “directed the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), working in collaboration with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), to prepare appropriate dockets with respect to each named individual, their collaborators and accomplices as well as other suspects named and unnamed in the report with the view to their prosecution at the instance of the Attorney-General.”

Information available to the Daily Statesman indicates that many of the affected 12 have even been re-assigned to “positions of higher responsibilities and honour” (more on this later).

The 12 were identified as Peter Ekow Gyimah, Former Head of CMS, Alhaji Yusif Inua, Member of the Interim Management Committee, Iddrisu Abdul Karim, Acting Head of CMS, Esi Makankatha, Principal Pharmacist/Warehouse Mangaer and Zeboat Doh, Warehouse Manager.

The rest were Ibrahim Laryeh Amartey, Line Warehouse Manager/General Pharmaceuticals Unit, Kwami Foli, Warehouse Manager, Mathias Senaya, Warehouse Manager/General Pharmaceuticals, Victoria Anning, Senior Supply Officer/Stores, James Benjamin Annan, Pharmacist/systems Analyst and Peter Ataba Addah, Store keeper.

The alleged arsonist was identified as Samuel Dogbe, a labourer at the Stores, who was said to have been hired by his superiors to carry out the attack, aimed at destroying evidence of malfeasance they were embroiled in.

The Economic and Organised Crime Office had been tasked to investigate the circumstances surrounding the expiration of large quantities of drugs and medical items at the stores.

A stock count of all medical consumables was slated for January 13, 2015, the very day of the attack, to be used for an exhaustive audit of supplies made to the Stores and allocations to health institution in 2014.

The National Security report said the 12 culprits were responsible for systematic theft of large quantities of medical supplies and irregularities in procurement and allocations to health institutions.

Among the irregularities and alleged fraudulent activities in the procurement and allocation to health institutions included the following: Malaria Control Programme managers diverting large quantities of anti-malarial drugs meant for public health institutions; the system software for recording stock levels of medical supplies and keeping track of allocations being manipulated, and rendering it ineffectual and facilitating massive diversions of medical items; expired drugs, mostly anti-malarial medicines from private pharmacy shop sometimes being swapped for good drugs supplied to the CMS by the company; expired medical non-consumable items, including masks and disinfectants, being regularly sold to private entities and the monies shared among the staff that facilitated the transaction; large quantities of Artemether Lumefantrine, an anti-malarial drug, being stolen or diverted and sold to entities in Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.

Through the National Security investigations, “it was established that the fire was deliberately set and that property damaged was worth millions of Ghana cedis. In all, five warehouses storing general pharmaceuticals, surgical/dressing materials, stationery and other items were destroyed.”

The Report added that “the fire was deliberately set to destroy evidence of theft and massive fraud and widespread irregularities in the procurement and distribution of medical supplies involving senior management and junior staff. It is believed Samuel Dogbe was paid to set the fire in order to destroy the evidence.”