rnAccra, May 23, GNA – Dr Hannah Loiusa Bissiw, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing on Wednesday hinted that government had contracted Battis Holding, a construction firm to build 1,000 housing units for health workers across the country. rnShe noted that the intervention had become necessary, due to the widening gap between the number of staff and availability of official accommodation. rnIn addition, government is implementing a special housing programme for workers, aimed at delivering 5,000 housing units nationwide within the next four years in collaboration with organised labour unions. rnDr Bissiw announced this at the opening of a two-day seminar organised by Health Services Estate Managers Association of Ghana (HESEMAG) in Accra. rnShe expressed dissatisfaction about instances whereby official residential accommodation units were in deplorable state due to prolonged delay in maintenance coupled with poor management. rn“Official residential buildings are invaluable public assets and must therefore be preserved by proper management and maintenance,” she added. rnDr Bissiw urged the participants to re-examine their roles and adopt innovative management approaches to help improve the conditions of health facilities and housing units. rnMr Andrew Oppong-Danquah, President of HESEMAG, expressed unhappiness about the collapse of the Planned Preventive Maintenance and the Health Facility Database programmes, which sought to equip Ghana Heath Services staff with knowledge in maintenance of health facilities and provided them with maintenance tools. rn“However both projects which were funded by DANIDA collapsed with the exit of the organisation in 2007,” he said.rn rnGNA