By Stephen Asante
Konongo (Ash), Oct. 17, GNA – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is advocating a strict maintenance regime to enhance the lifespan of health projects, especially hospital facilities in the country.
The administrators ought to embrace and strengthen the culture of maintenance, he advised, saying they “will be held accountable for this”.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was inaugurating the Konongo Government Hospital, in the Asante-Akim Central Municipality of the Ashanti Region, tasked the duty bearers to ensure value for money in the projects executed since they come with a great cost to the nation.
“The leadership of this facility must set the examples for periodic and constant maintenance.
“We should be in the position some 10 years down the line to see it still in good condition. It should not fall in the ways in which several institutions in Ghana have gone,” the President advised.
The 60-bed hospital, undertaken by Messrs. Euroget De-invest, an Egyptian company, is resourced with modern medical equipment such as X-rays, ultra-scan machine, fully-equipped operating theatre, waste treatment and water plants, power station, a central air conditioning system, among others.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is on a working visit to the Region to inspect and inaugurate development projects, said under his Administration, some 32 major hospital projects were ongoing in Ashanti.
Under ‘Agenda 111’, he said, the government was constructing 16 district hospitals naaming the beneficiary districts as Trede, Kokoben, Boamang, Nsuta-Sekyere, Manso-Adubia, Mankranso, Kwabenakwa, Barekese, Kodie, Asiwa, Akrofuom, Adugyama, Adansi-Asokwa and Asokore-Mampong.
The rest are Bantama and Nyinahin, in addition to the construction of a psychiatric hospital at Onwe, in the Ejisu Municipality.
“Under the Euroget project, initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government under President John Agyekum Kufuor, the Nana Akufo-Addo Government has seen to the completion of the Ahafo-Ano North District Hospital at Tepa, and the Asante-Akim Hospital in Konongo,” the President noted.
Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Services (GHS), lauded the government for its commitment to invest in health infrastructure as the nation strived to achieve universal health coverage.
GNA