Parliament approves loan for construction of health facilities

 Parliament yesterday approved a €56,153,500 loan facility to finance the construction of trauma hospitals in Obuasi and Ayinam in the Ashanti and Eastern regions respectively.

 Part of the facility is also expected to be used for the construction of an accident and emergency centre at the Enyiresi Hospital in the Eastern Region and a rehabilitation centre at the Obuasi Health Centre.

 It would also be used to finance the provision of medical equipment and ancillary services to ensure that the beneficiary facilities were fully operational and befitting their status.

 According to the Finance Committee’s report on the loan agreement between the government of Ghana and Deutsche Bank AG, as facility lender, and TM Global Services (UK) Limited, as the facility arranger, the project forms part of government’s commitment to the provision of universal health in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 3.

 Moving the motion for the approval of the facility, Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah said the scope of work for the trauma hospitals include features like accident and emergency department, a male theatre, public health department, out-patient department, amongst others.

 Dr Assibey-Yeboah observed that Obuasi and Anyinam presently do not have any major hospitals, hence the need to provide them with one.

 “The existing Obuasi Health Centre is both ill-equipped and inadequate to meet the health needs of the burgeoning population of the catchment area,” he stated.

 The projects, to be completed in three years, Dr Assibey-Yeboah said, would bring quality healthcare to the doorstep of residents of beneficiary communities; and urged his colleagues to adopt his Committee’s report.

 Seconding the motion, Adaklu MP, Governs Kwame Agbodza, said the facilities would aid the recovery process of accident victims, adding the facilities would be an addition to Ghana’s healthcare sector.

 According to him, there is difference in what was done in previous arrangements and the current one.

 “Under this agreement, government has already gone to borrow the money by themselves, so they just contracted a local engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company to partner it in executing the project.

 “I am happy that local contractors will play a role in EPC contracts. It is a good thing to do because even if you do EPC with foreigners, it is the local contractors who end up doing the work. It is a good idea that we are trying to introduce local contractors in this,” he said.

 Wa West MP, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, on his part urged that governments in the future considered the elevation of health centres into district hospital status instead of just rehabilitating them, so that they could serve a wider range of people and ailments.

 Atiwa East MP and a Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei Asare, in whose constituency the Anyinam and Enyiresi facilities would be sited expressed appreciation to the government for reviving the project, which has been on the card since 2008.  

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI