The Western Regional Hospital
President John Dramani Mahama has assured residents that the Western Regional Hospital will be completed within the next 18 months.
The project, which is 25% complete, was halted due to the debt restructuring program after being initiated by the previous government.
The President views this as a responsibility passed on to him and has pledged to complete it, along with other stalled projects.
President John Dramani Mahama began his one-working-day visit to the Western Region in the Ahanta West municipality, where he inspected the stalled 25 percent complete regional hospital project at Apemenyim.
He stated that the goal of such projects is to distribute health facilities more evenly across the country, thereby reducing pressure on existing ones, and assured the public that the 250-bed facility will be completed within the next 18 months. This is informed by a thorough engagement with the official creditor committee leading to the Finance Ministry beginning the processing of the contractor’s certificates.
The next stop was at the regional capital, where he inspected the Effiankwanta Regional Hospital expansion project, which aims to convert it into a teaching hospital. This is 45 percent complete. President Mahama indicated he sees this as a baton passed to him from the previous administration and is committed to finishing it and other stalled projects.
He vowed to end the cycle where new government intentionally abandoned projects started by their predecessors.
“The intention for these projects is to spread out our health facilities so that you don’t have too much pressure on only one facility. Effiankwanta has been the main hospital in the whole of the Western Region, and so it was necessary to expand it and then also build a second regional hospital at Apemenim.
“As I said during the campaign period last year, I said that one of the practices that has drawn Ghana back is that when a new government comes, it does not continue the work the previous government was doing. But governance is like a relay race. One government passes the baton to the next.
So, this is a baton that the previous government passed on to us. So, I can assure you that the money that has gone into this building is the money of the Ghanaian taxpayer. And so we’re not going to let it go to waste. We’re going to continue and finish this project,” the President said.
The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson was optimistic its completion will improve quality health care delivery in the region.
“His Excellency made a promise during the campaign. And so today we have him here. In fulfillment of that promise, he’s come to see these projects that were started by the previous administration. As we all know, this one and others that we’re about to see have stopped. But as part of his commitment, he’s come to see how this project can progress so that at the end of the day it’s completed for the benefit of the people.
Source:Lovinghananews.com
