Former K.H.M.H. Finance Director points finger at chairman

Just when it seemed that all the dirty linen had been aired about questionable purchases at the K.H.M.H., well we heard more about the issue today. And it comes from no other than the former Director of Finance at the K.H.M.H., Cecil Knowles, who is publicly nailing the current controversial Board Chairman, Dr. Ricardo Fabro, as the man who made the scandalous procurements and purchases at the hospital. And he has a shocking tale. Marion Ali has the details in the following report.

Marion Ali, Reporting
News Five visited Orange Walk Town today to give the persons whose names are called in this report a chance to give their side, but the two we spoke to refused to comment on camera and the third was not in the country. First we hear from the man making the statements, Cecil Knowles. He is the former Director of Finance at the K.H.M.H., and he told News Five that while the Board Chairman, Dr Ricardo Fabro claims he knows nothing of wrongdoing at the hospital, Knowles says it was Fabro himself who instructed him to make the changes.

Cecil Knowles, Former Director of Finance, K.H.M.H.
“Immediately after Dr. Fabro was appointed Chairman of the Board and after the first Board meeting he came to my office requesting a list of all purchases. He went with it, accepted it and shortly after that called me and started to instruct me where when and whom to purchase from; not for how much, not for how much—when where and who to purchase from. He did not instruct me how much to pay. That was not a part of it at all but he instructed me from whom and when to purchase.”

Marion Ali
“So price was not a factor?”

Cecil Knowles
“Price was not a factor. He instructed me to purchase from Gillett’s Meats, he instructed me to purchase from De la Fuente Pharmacy. Those are the two major people that he instructed me to purchase and those are the bulk of our purchases. I can’t see how now that the Board of Directors are supporting Dr. Fabro and cannot see that the facts show that Dr. Fabro acted to some extent, unethically.”

When we visited his clinic on Dunn Street in Orange Walk today, Dr. Fabro did not speak to us on camera. He denies Knowles’ allegations and said there is evidence that purchases were made from various other pharmacies. But Knowles also has a reason for this.

Cecil Knowles
“Pharmaceuticals will be purchased from other suppliers because a small pharmacy like De la Fuente will not have all the supplies that Karl Heusner would need at any one time. There is enough proof if you look at the chronological order of events that De la Fuente Pharmacy, the quantity of purchases made from De la Fuente Pharmacy since March April.”

Knowles said because he was not comfortable with making the purchases at De la Fuente’s inflated prices, he e-mailed Fabro after he adhered to his instructions, informing him that the purchases were made as per his instructions.

Fabro countered that Knowles is lashing out because he feels aggrieved after a decision was made to change his post. Fabro says Knowles was only the Acting Finance Director and was found to be inefficient on the job, so he was assigned his previous post, that of Accountant. But Knowles rebutted.

Cecil Knowles
“I have no personal gripe with anyone of those persons. I have to protect and clear the air that they are saying that these purchases were done without their knowledge and by me; basically saying that I did it.”

But Knowles went further than to talk of just medical supplies, he told us that even Fabro even changed the hospital’s purchases of meats and fish from Belize City to Orange Walk.

Cecil Knowles
“We purchased fish from Gillett’s Meats, we purchased poultry from Gillett’s Meats, we purchased all our meat supplies from Gillett’s Meats. Previously before that we purchased our meat supplies from Smiling Meats, we purchased our poultry supplies from Quality Poultry and our fish we got it from our local vendor at the fish market.”

Proprietor of Gillett’s Meats on San Antonio Road, Derek Gillett, told us off camera that he did provide K.H.M.H. with only one supply of two hundred pounds of fish, a purchase which Knowles acceded to. He said that the hospital never indicated they wanted the fish cleaned and gutted.

Cecil Knowles
“We are not discussing if something is illegal or not because I can purchase a pencil for a hundred thousand dollars and say that I wanted this pencil for a hundred thousand dollars. But is it ethical? Dr. Fabro has to be held responsible because he was aware.”

We also visited De la Fuente Pharmacy on Main Street to find out if they asked for the special procurements with the K.H.M.H., but the owner, Antonio De La Fuente was out of the country until next Monday. Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.

Knowles says he resigned one month after he was demoted to the post of Accountant. All he got on that occasion was a verbal communication by the then Acting C.E.O. that he was being demoted. As for Fabro, he told us that he is seeking legal advice for defamatory remarks that have been made against him since the news broke of the irregular purchases at K.H.M.H. He also added that he would not give us an on-camera interview because, as a Board member, he cannot give interviews without the Board’s input and approval.