The Executive Secretary of the Danquah Institute and a leading member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Okyere Darko has revealed that embattled Chief Executive Officer of Kingdom Herbal Center, Jonathan Amofa, once played an instrumental role in finding a solution to President Mills� ailing health by linking him (Mills) with some Chinese herbal practitioners on a trip to the East Asian country a couple of years ago.
Mr. Otchere Darko made this disclosure following alleged comments by an official of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) that Mr Amofa�s wealth might have been gotten through dishonest means.
His revelation comes on the heels of the closure of Kingdom Herbal Centre�s warehouse at Tetegu and seizure of herbal medicines at two of its shops and the raid at the premises of Yafo Yafo at Ashalley Botwe near Madina by the FDB. The FBD claims that both herbal manufacturing companies have failed to comply with directives to renew their products� license.
Staff from the Drug Inspectorate Department of the FDB, went to the premises of Yafo Yafo as part of their surveillance activities to check the registration status of the products since their records reveal that all the five products registered by Yafo Yafo (Yafo Tonic, Yafo Fever Mixture, Yafo Pioneer Capsules and Yafo Manpower Capsules) had expired since October 1, 2009.
In the other raid, the FDB seized and detained large quantities of alleged unregistered herbal medicines at two locations belonging to Kingdom Herbal Centre at Okaishie and Zongo Junction in Accra. During the process of seizure there was a verbal altercation resulting in one FDB official allegedly exclaiming, �do you think you can bluff your way out due to your dirty (ill-gotten) wealth?�
The unregistered herbal medicines included Kingdom Tremendous Capsules, Kingdom Blood Tonic, Kingdom Ginseng Power Capsules, Kingdom Koo Capsules, Kingdom Garlic Capsules, Kingdom Garlic Bitters, Kingdom Koo Bitters and Kingdom M Mixture.
In a interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on PeaceFM�s flagship programme, �Kokrokoo�, a Regulatory Officer at the FDB, Issahka Collinson Kwofie revealed that the manufacturing premises of Kingdom Herbal Centre was closed down in November 2009 by the Board due to poor hygienic conditions, which was in contravention of the Food and Drugs Law section 16(1)(b).
The law states: �A person shall not manufacture for sale a drug or chemical substance unless the conditions under which the manufacture is to be carried on are in the opinion of the Board, suitable to ensure that the articles will be safe for use.�
Mr Collinson Kwofie said it could not, therefore, guarantee the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbal medicines since they had not been certified.
Asked how come Kingdom Herbal was able to engage in manufacturing herbal products and run approved drugs adverts on radio and television despite claims by the FDB to have closed its (Kingdom�s) offices in 2009, the FDB Regulatory Officer said his outfit was still reviewing the application for the permission to run adverts.
But a clearly surprised Gabby Otchere-Darko sought to find out when the FDB realized that Mr Amofa�s wealth might have been ill-gotten, particularly after the key role played by the CEO of Kingdom Herbal Centre in President Mills� trip to China to receive medical treatment.
�I visited Kingdom Herbal and I chanced upon a picture of him and President Mills which was taken in China in 2006. That was when I got to know that Mr Amofa personally knew President Mills and they had a relationship�apparently he was instrumental in President Mills� trip to China to receive treatment. He was approached by an aide to Mills which led to him (Amofa) contacting some medical practitioners in China to assist in finding a cure for then candidate Mills� ailment�there are pictures to prove that so since when did his money became dirty (ill-gotten)?� he questioned.
To him, much as it is important for the FDB not to be stampeded in the discharge of its duties, it is equally essential that state institutions do not unnecessarily target certain individuals and businesses because of perceived political affiliation.
�For better governance, our institutions have to be strengthened, there is the need for the country to focus on empowering Ghanaian business�,� he said.
Source: Beatrice Adepa Frempong/Peacefmonline.com
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |