The $860,000 solar-powered specialised health centre located at Volo in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region has been discovered by DAILY GUIDE to be a misplaced priority.
Apparently, the location of the facility and its associated equipment seem to have been done without adequate stakeholder consultation.
The Volta Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Joseph Teye Nuertey, who disclosed this to DAILY GUIDE, said although the project is a laudable one, it would have served a better purpose if all key stakeholders were consulted to make inputs prior to its construction. He regrettably described the facility as a “misguided priority”.
The digital village, as it is fondly called, comprises of a cluster of health, education and administrative facilities with drugs and other essential commodities and equipment for primary and secondary healthcare.
It was constructed in 2014 by Samsung Electronics Africa and handed over to the then Mahama-led NDC government in May 2015.
Residents recently confirmed that the project has since 2015 been abandoned.
Torgbe Kwaku Abliza IV, paramount chief of Volo Traditional Area, disclosed that “you know when they commissioned it on a Friday, and the next day which was a Saturday, many people trooped in to access healthcare, but were asked to return later after the right personnel take their post. However, till date it has not operated.”
Abandonment
Residents have expressed their worry about how the digital village has become a white elephant, while the old health centre which the facility was supposed to complement was suffocating from lack of space and logistics for quality healthcare.
Furthermore, the facility is virtually buried in a forest, as the surroundings of the facility have grown bushy, with rodents invading the place.
The facility which was built for special cases such as ear, eye and tooth has some of the consumables left to expire, while others have barely a few weeks to months to last.
Residents were of the view that the money wasted in putting up the facility could have been invested in expanding the health centre.
Misguided Project
Dr Teye Nuertey seems to agree with the suggestion of the residents. He described the project as a “misguided priority”.
“It was after the project was completed that the district director was consulted. As a regional director, I was not even invited to the commissioning,” he bemoaned.
He stated that he had to be at the commissioning after receiving a last minute invitation on the day of the commissioning.
Dr Teye Nuertey, however, refused to give further details, explaining that he still went ahead to use his office to post a dental technician and a ENT (ear, nose and throat) nurse, but the two resigned after visiting the facility. He has since tried to get staff for the facility but “nobody is prepared to go.”
DAILY GUIDE’s investigations revealed that the facility was lobbied by Mr Austin Gamey, a former MP for North Tongu. He is alleged to have lobbied for the project to be sited at Volo, his hometown, without considering the broader interest of the entire North Tongu District.
Health workers and officials in the North Tongu District Health Directorate, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, explained that they would have recommended the project to be sited at Juapong, where it would have been more beneficial to society, had they been consulted.
From Fred Duodu, Ho