Kwaku Agyeman-Manu
PLANS To cut the sod for the commencement of a modern 40-bed hospital facility at the Suame municipality have suffered a setback at the eleventh-hour due to a land problem.
Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has disclosed that there was a problem with the parcel of land where the hospital was supposed to be constructed.
According to him, due to the land problem, plans to officially cut the sod for the project to start, which was supposed to take place last week, could not come on as planned.
“We have a problem with the land about the Suame Hospital project; therefore, we could not cut the sod for the project to start,” the minister said on Kumasi-based ‘Nhyira FM’ on Saturday.
Mr. Agyeman-Manu, however, gave an assurance that authorities were working hard to resolve the land issue so that the hospital project could eventually commence at Suame within a short time.
He said government had secured a 71 million Euro funding from Austria for the construction of 12 packaged hospitals across some selected areas in the country, and Suame is included.
The Health Minister disclosed that Suame and four other areas in the Ashanti Region, including Twedie, Manso Nkwanta, Sabronum and Drobonso, were benefiting from the project.
“So far, I have been able to cut the sod for all the hospital projects to start in all the above-mentioned areas, with the exception of Suame, where there is land problem,” he indicated.
According to the minister, the Eastern Region is also benefiting from three of the 12 hospital projects, adding that one contractor would be working on all the 12 hospitals.
The 12 hospitals are supposed to be completed in 36 months’ time and it will boast of theatres, laboratory, staff accommodation, male and female wards, among others.
Significantly, the Health Minister explained that the 12 packaged hospital projects were not part of the 88 proposed new hospitals, which are scheduled to start in 2021.
Mr. Agyeman-Manu said the Akufo-Addo government has the health sector at heart, for which reason it has decided to invest heavily in that important sector.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi