Steve Pollack Slams Kotoko After Three Years Of Failing To Compensate Accident Victims
Former head coach of Asante Kotoko, Steve George Polack has expressed his displeasure to his former employers after three years of failing to compensate accident victims.
After honouring a Ghana Premier League (GPL) clash with Inter Allies on July 2017 in Accra, the team bus of Kotoko was involved in an accident on their way back to Kumasi.
The team bus crashed into a stationary truck on the Nkawkaw dual carriage road.
This resulted to the death of deputy equipment officer Thomas Obeng Asare while many others, including players, team officials and journalists, sustained various degrees of injuries.
Clubs and the general public made donations to the club for the unfortunate incident.
However, after three years, the accident victims are yet to be compensated.
“Basically it’s a human thing that you do that, you come to your employee’s aid when there have been kind of problem to your employee,” he told Kumasi based Wontumi FM.
“You are an employee and you are working for an employer, you expect them (employer) to take care of you whatever that happens to you during your contract or how long you’ve been working there so we are expecting them(Asante Kotoko) to do that”
“Let’s be honest, they are adult, they should know these things; If the tables turn around and it happens to them, how will they feel, three years later and we still haven’t been compensated, what if is them was in the accident, don’t you think they would have already got their compensation?”
“So always you need to put yourself in other people’s shoes and feel it too, Kotoko needs to compensate us (accident victims),” he added.
However, a former goalkeeper for the club, Isaac Amoako has accused the club of neglecting the accident victims.
“Coming Sunday, July 14, 2020, will mark three years since the horrific incident happened but still not received a penny from Kotoko and we don’t know as to when our compensations would be paid,” Amoako is reported to have said on Sunyani-based BA TV.
“The refusal of the Kotoko leadership to pay our monies has placed a heavy toll on most of the victims. Longest-serving team driver Nana Berchie has been at home due to the accident he had, while Baba Mahama and Ollenu Ashitey have had their playing careers stymied.”
Amoako revealed that they recently appeared before the three-member committee appointed by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to investigate the club’s affairs in April. The committee promised to forward their grievances to the appropriate authorities.
“We are aware that the newly constituted board led by the previous board chair, Dr Kwame Kyei who held that position at the time of the accident, had begun paying off several debts incurred by the club but still not heard from him,” he added.
“We will not keep quiet until Kotoko leadership pay our compensation to us (Victims),” Amoako concluded.
The match ended in a 1-0 defeat to Allies at El-Wak Sports Stadium.
Kotoko’s bus was carrying a contingent of 15 players, seven technical officials and two journalists.