UK Exim Bank to terminate Sekondi hospital contract 

Exim Bank UK is considering terminating the contract for  funding the construction of one of the six district hospitals mentioned by the president in his 2015 state of the nation address in Sekondi in the Western Region.

This was made known by  the Western Regional Communications Officer for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Phamus Tumi Acquah.

He said the termination is as a result of government’s inability to secure land for the project within the two year contract period.

[contextly_sidebar id=”KZLiAa99N0AJCg7Y7tpLrDLLNKCPzC6h”]“Those who gave the report to the President for his 2015 state of the nation address did not even go to the site to see if there is any construction. As I speak, nothing is there to show. I also have reliable information that the project will be terminated by Exim Bank UK not only from the people of Sekondi but from Ghana at large by 31st July 2015. I have seen a document which is going to the UK to this effect,” Phamus Acquah told Citi News.

Gas Pipeline complicates search for land

In 2013, the then Minister of Health Shirley Aryitey and members from the Sekondi Takoradi Metro Assembly, the Regional Health Directorate and the Regional Coordinating Council performed a sod cutting ceremony on 56 acres of land at Kansaworado, a suburb of Sekondi.

Sign post was erected to signal the commencement of the project. However, engineers listed the nearness of the gas pipeline from Atuabo to the Aboadze Thermal Power Station as a reason to change the location.

The suggestion was welcomed by the stakeholders and so decided to look for a different site.

Another site was given but was also rejected because it was marshy.

The search continued until November 2014 when according to Phamus Tumi Acquah the chief of Essipon gave 24 acres of land for the project.

But this site also has the School of Social Welfare managed by the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection at Essipon.

 According to Phamus, “Nana Oye Lithur had thought the hospital was a private person’s initiative and so was not ready to allow the school to be replaced by the hospital until I went to draw her attention to it that it was for the Ministry of Health”.

W/R Coordinating Council et al accused of being ‘lackadaisical’

Phamus Tumi Acquah said, “this lack of will power and the lackadaisical attitude of the Western regional Coordinating Council, the Regional Health Directorate and the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly to communicate to the Gender Ministry since last November have brought us to where we are today.

He added that “we are at the verge of losing the hospital. They were to inform the ministry that there was the rehabilitation of the Sekondi Social Welfare Center which could house those members at Essipon so there was no need to rehabilitate the Essipon School.”

 “I am going to fight until this hospital is given to the people of Sekondi and to win the Sekondi seat for the NDC come 2016 general elections,” he stated.

Hospital to suffer same fate as then proposed Regional Hospital

The  Sekondi District Hospital is one of a six district hospitals project, to undertaken with total sum of 172 million pounds given by the Exim bank .

Other communities benefiting from the project are Dodowa, Fomena, Garu, Abetifi, and Kumawu.

Citi News understands their facilities are at various stages of completion.

If the construction of the Sekondi hospital is terminated what happened to proposed Western Regional Hospital which was meant to replace the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital some years ago.

Already, the Western Region has less than 60 medical doctors taking care of the region’s population of 2.63 million.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana