The Ankobeahene of Kwahu Obo, Nana Boamah Twerefuor II, has appealed to the government to prioritise the completion of the abandoned Abetifi Referral Hospital, a major health project that has been left to deteriorate for nearly a decade.
The facility, one of six district hospitals under the “Built to Care Ghana” initiative began in 2013, following a $175 million loan agreement between the Government of Ghana and Barclays Bank PLC of the United Kingdom.
The contract, awarded to NMS Infrastructure Limited, was to deliver fully equipped hospitals with modern information technology systems in Abetifi, Dodowa, Fomena, Garu, Kumawu and Takoradi.
Although the project was designed as a 120-bed specialist facility with advanced medical equipment, work stalled at about 40 percent completion, leaving behind unroofed buildings and overgrown weeds.
The situation has forced residents to travel long distances to Koforidua or Kumasi for referral cases, which chiefs and residents describe as both frustrating and life-threatening.
During the recent thanksgiving tour of NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, in the Eastern Region, Nana Boamah Twerefuor II reminded him of the community’s plight, stressing that the hospital was “a government project very dear to the hearts of Kwahu.”
Responding, Mr. Asiedu Nketia assured that President John Dramani Mahama, who initiated the project during his first term, remains committed to fulfilling all promises, including inherited projects from previous governments.
The Kwahu East DCE, Samuel Asamoah, also gave assurances in an interview that the Abetifi Referral Hospital is a priority project for President Mahama.
He revealed that several assessments have been completed and that the Assembly, together with traditional leaders, would soon present findings to the Jubilee House for further action.
“I can say on authority that the Abetifi Referral Hospital is one of the key projects dear to President Mahama. Very soon, the contractor will return to site to continue from where he stopped,” he emphasised.
For now, however, the incomplete hospital remains a symbol of dashed hope with the people of Kwahu anxiously awaiting the day it opens its doors to serve the region.
Background
The project, initiated in 2012 under the “Built to Care Ghana” programme, was part of six district hospitals funded by a $175 million loan agreement secured by the government through Barclays Bank PLC of the United Kingdom.
Messrs NMS Infrastructure Limited of the UK was awarded the contract to design, construct and equip the facilities with modern medical and IT systems.
The beneficiary districts included Abetifi (Kwahu East), Fomena (Adansi North), Dodowa (Shai-Osudoku), Garu, Kumawu and the European Hospital in Sekondi-Takoradi.
Although construction began in 2013, work on the Abetifi facility stalled at around 40 percent completion, leaving behind deteriorating structures, rusting metal works and overgrown weeds. The $38.8 million required to complete outstanding works was frozen following a technical inquiry and value-for-money audit in 2017.
