Friday, 29 March

Mahama clinics completed – Agyeman-Manu

Health News
Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu

Ghana’s Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has said that the 10 polyclinics that were being constructed by former President Mahama’s administration in the Central Region have all been completed and opened by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo-led government.

Mr Agyeman-Manu disclosed this at a press conference held in Accra on Thursday, 19 September 2019.

According to the minister, the various polyclinics in Potsin, Bimpong Egya, Etsii Sunkwa, Ekumfi Naakwa, Dawurampong, Mampong, Biriwa and Bisease were all opened in August 2018.

The minister said: “They were commissioned as of August 2018. I went there physically to commission the facilities after completion. When we came, they were at the very early stages of construction, and all of them, I signed not less than 32 certificates for them to access funds to continue work.”

Mr Agyeman-Manu emphasised that upon opening the projects, a former deputy minister of Finance, Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, accused him of taking credit for them, arguing that they were started by the erstwhile Mahama administration.

“I told honourable this was started by the previous regime and we don’t have any obligation to leave them standing, so, we had continued and completed just like President Mills commissioned the N1 motorway that was started by Kufuor. In the same spirit, President Akufo-Addo will do what was left behind”, the minister noted.

Mr Agyeman-Manu also said five polyclinics have also been completed in the Greater Accra Region. These projects are located in Ashaiman, Bortiano, Sege, Adentan, and Oduman.

He said unlike the NPP which always continues projects it inherits from previous governments, those started by the Kufuor administration were abandoned by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) under Mr John Mahama’s administration.

On the progress of work on the GHANA 8-No. Hospital Project by EUROGET, Mr Agyeman-Manu revealed that the hospital at Wa has been opened and preparations toward its operationalisation are currently ongoing, while the Ga East (Kwabenya) Hospital is scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2019. Nkawkaw and Tepa Hospitals are also expected to be completed by June 2020 next year. The four other hospitals in Twifo Praso, Konongo, Sewua and Salaga are also scheduled to be completed in November 2020.

The minister emphasised that major rehabilitation works are ongoing at the theatres of the Tamale Teaching Hospital as well as its Nurses’ station and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Bay.  

Five district hospitals are also being constructed in Wheta in the Ketu North District of the Volta Region, Somanya in the Yilo Krobo district of the Eastern Region, Sawla in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district, Buipe in the Central Gonja district and Tolon in the Tolon Kumbugu district; all in the Northern Region. A polyclinic is also being constructed in Bamboi in the Bole District of the Northern Region. 

He said the government and the contractor are working on resuming work on some stalled projects by the end of October 2019 while construction works on three sites, namely; Kumawu, Fomena and Takoradi European are expected to be completed by June 2019. The remaining hospitals at Sekondi, Garu and Abetifi are scheduled to be completed by 2021.

Also, he said construction of 15 Ghana Heath Service Community-Based Health Planning and Services Compounds (CHPS) are at various levels of completion, eight of which are to be completed and handed over by December 2019 with the construction of 26 more compounds set to commence by January 2020.

He noted that Phase One of the University of Ghana Medical Centre has also been completed and been in operation since 18 July 2018 for Out-Patient services while Phase Two has commenced with the signing of a contract of €40.5 million.

Additionally, he said works commenced toward completing and equipping the Bekwai District Hospital in June 2019.

The minister disclosed that old projects that had to be phased out due to funding constraints as well as those on the drawing board for the last five years and beyond have received government’s approval to proceed.

The following projects, the minister noted, have received cabinet and parliamentary approval for implementation to commence:

Rehabilitation of Bolga Hospital – Phase III (295-Bed); construction of 6 selected health facilities in the Western Region located at Elubo, Bogoso, Akontombra, Nsuaem, Wassa Dunkwa and Mpohor (Rehabilitation); remodelling and retooling of 4 selected hospitals in the Eastern Region at Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital-Mampong, Aburi(Kom) Healthcare Centre, Atibie Hospital, Kibi Government Hospital; construction of Eastern Regional Government Hospital at Koforidua and the completion of Maternity and Children’s Block at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

 

Source: ClassFMOnline.com