Tell us why no single person from Upper East is a cabinet Minister—Navrongo MP
The Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central Constituency Mr. Sampson Tangombu Chiragia has questioned the Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu why out of 19 to 21 cabinet Ministers in Akufo-Addo’s administration no single person is representing the people of Upper East –Apexnewsgh.com Report According to Mr. Tangombu Chiragia: “This clearly shows that his none performing President who does not see Upper East Region as part of Ghana”. His question came after the regional minister had responded to his position on the 2022 budget where he complained that the budget could not even capture the controversial Upper East airport, which he believes is inconveniencing the people of the region and more especially he as a parliamentarian who always love to travel home every weekend. According to the Regional Minister in his response: “If an MP is in Accra, saying he wants to come home every weekend to see his constituents but because there is no airport he cannot come, I don’t think we should even vote for such Member of Parliament. However, the response by the Upper East Regional Minister has triggered the Navrongo Central Constituency legislator to throw another heavy wet question to the father of the region. “Why is it that we have almost 19 to 21 cabinet ministers and we have 16 regions, why is it that Upper East Region is not having even a cabinet minister? We don’t have a cabinet minister in Nana Addo’s government and he doesn’t regard us”. Navrongo MP asked “So, for that matter, who is going to carry issues across? He is the Regional Minister, his constituency is the region, my constituency is Navrongo Central, and his party is in power, and is their responsibility to do something for us, and he should not be dodging his responsibilities. “The last time, that was the same mistake he made, he said there were going to be airport located where? NO, he talked about the aerodrome which he said going to in Navrongo, that one is already known. What we are saying is that, before you can talk about the airport, where are you locating it? Where are you building it? You have not made the land preparation and you have 3 years to go and you are telling us you are going to get two airports when? We need the airport now. He insisted “Not about me coming home, I come home alright but what am saying is that I have business in Accra and definitely, I will close some times and run into the night. I can come and land in Tamale sometime with the last flight. If there were to be an airport in Upper East Region when i land i can even take a bicycle and go”. He explained “But here is the situation, how can you land in Tamale around 6:30 to 7:00 Pm then drive 3 to 4 hours before you get home? Then, that’s even better. When you are going back to Parliament and you want to go with last flight and you are leaving Upper East, it means you have to leave home around 4:00 Pm and if you are not lucky and get a breakdown on the road, what do you do? He shouldn’t run away from his responsibility. He knows very well I don’t have access to his Oldman who is there wasting our time, even he himself doesn’t have access to his old because he goes there, he can only talk to the Chief of Staff and comeback. He is not even regarded, he is only here to represent something. If he claimed he is a darling boy to the President he should make him a cabinet minister so that he can talk for Upper East. “Upper East is the only region we have, no one should be joking with the region that is our country and our capital, we come from there and we can never change”. “He should lead a legacy so that tomorrow, he can say he was a minister he was able to bring us airport. We don’t care where the airport is located, they can send it to Fumbisi, and they can send it to even Pwalungu it doesn’t matter anymore. He stressed Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Police promised to give Ghc 50k to anyone with vital information about the criminals who murdered officers in Upper East
The Inspector-General of Police has issued a Fifty Thousand bounty (Ghc50, 000.00) for anyone ready to provide information that will lead to the arrest of criminals who murdered the two Policemen on duty in Zuarungu. Apexnewsgh.com report According to the Upper East Regional Police command, two of their men have been murdered by some unknown criminals while on official duty. The two Const. Emmanuel Akowuah and Const. Adam Sulley visited their untimely death at the Zuarungu Market in Bolgatanga East of the Upper East Region on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. However, according to the Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service ASP. David Fianko Okyere who addressed the media Sais: “The information we have is that, when the patrol teams were on their duties around 7:00 Pm evening Wednesday, December 15, 2021, we got information at our control room here that armed robbers had attacked a particular shop in Zuarungu area and for that matter, they needed police assistance”. “Meanwhile, these two policemen on motorbike patrolling had already started their duty. So, it’s just a coincidence that arrived on the scene where the crime was committed and unfortunately, the criminals fired on them and that is what we have as of now. Interestingly, barely 10 hours after the incident in the region, the IGP George Akufo Dampare visited the region to ascertain the level of damage caused and as well to encourage his personnel not to be weak in spirit because of the tragic incident of their colleagues. “Barely 10hours after the incident, the Inspector General of Police George Akufo Dampare himself has paid a visit to the region to get firsthand information about the incident and also to raise the moral of our personnel. “He is currently in the regional headquarters here addressing the personnel. Earlier, he visited the crime scene in Zuarungu market square, he also visited the chief and people of Zuarungu at his police, he met the community near the crime scene and assured them that he will do everything possible as a police administration to ensure we get the perpetrators of this heinous crime either dead or alive and he wished that we get them dead and what it means is that, he has charged police personnel in the Upper East Region to do everything possible to ensure we arrest the perpetrators of this heinous crime. And this should prevent us from doing our work, this should rather ginger us to go ahead to combat crime in the region”. Meanwhile, since March 2020, the region has not recorded such a heinous crime.
President Akufo-Addo appoints NPP W/R Treasurer as NLA Dep. Dir-Gen.
Anna Horma Miezah, Western Regional treasurer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has been appointed as the Deputy Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA). The newly-appointed Deputy Director-General Anna Horma Miezah, will be assisting former NPP Youth Organizer Sammi Awuku, who is currently the Director-General of the NLA. A letter of appointment signed by the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, said: “I am pleased to inform you that the president has appointed you to act as the deputy director-general of the National Lottery Authority, pending receipt of the constitutionally required advice of the governing board of the Authority, given in consultation with the Public Services Commission.” The NLA was first established in 1958, as the Department of National Lotteries with a mandate to organize prize raffles for the public. It was established as a public service institution to provide a corporate platform that encourages best management practice, creativity and innovation. With the passing into law of the Lotto and Betting Act (Act 94) in 1960, it was launched into a lottery aimed at raising revenue in order to support the country’s development. The NLA has become an autonomous institution with a legal monopoly over the country’s organization of lotteries. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Akufo-Addo’s full 27th COVID address to the nation
Address By The President Of The Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, On Updates To Ghana’s Enhanced Response To The Coronavirus Pandemic, On Wednesday, 15th December 2021. Fellow Ghanaians, good evening. It has been some time since I last came into your homes on a matter that has grabbed not only our attention but that of every country in the world. However, as Christmas approaches, with its attendant, charged activities and with an expected influx of visitors, it is important that I come back into your homes to provide an update on what the government is doing to combat the pandemic, and what is expected of you, the Ghanaian people, in this season. When I delivered the last update, I indicated that, in spite of the efforts to rid the nation of COVID-19, the fight was far from over, as we had begun to experience a third wave of COVID-19 infections, driven largely by the delta variant. The data tells us that the months of August and September, in particular, were the most devastating. Some three hundred and ten (310) lives were lost to the virus in those two months alone, representing a quarter of the cumulative deaths from the virus since we recorded our first case in March 2020. In the months of October and November, a consistent decline in infection rates occurred, and, mercifully and by the Grace of God, this has continued right into early December. As of Sunday, 12th December, some two million and forty-two thousand, thousand, seven hundred and seventy-eight (2,042,778) tests have been conducted, out of which one hundred and thirty-one thousand, nine hundred and eleven (131,911) positive cases have been recorded. One hundred and twenty-nine thousand, six hundred and eighty-three (129,683) persons have recovered, meaning that, presently, the number of active cases, that is the number of people with the virus, stands at nine hundred and seventy-three (973) persons. In as much as this represents some degree of good news, we have, sadly, had one thousand, two hundred and fifty-five (1,255) persons dying from COVID-19. The current data suggests quite a favourable COVID situation prevailing in Ghana, and I say this only to encourage each one of us to continue to be vigilant, and adhere to the enhanced hygiene protocols which have served us so well so far. Three regions, i.e., Ashanti, Greater Accra and Volta, have the bulk of infections. Seven (7) regions have single-digit infections, and six (6) regions, that is Ahafo, North East, Oti, Savannah, Upper West and Western North, at the moment, have zero (0) active cases. We must do everything possible, at the very least, to maintain this situation, especially as the festive season approaches. Whilst these numbers should normally provide us with some comfort, as far as this virus is concerned, I am a firm believer in the oft-cited adage that “it is better to be safe than sorry”. We are expecting, in this month of Christmas, a large number of visitors, overseas Ghanaians and foreigners, into the country. With the Immigration Service doing a yeoman’s job by intercepting many foreign nationals trying to enter the country through unapproved routes, Government’s concern has been to limit the importation of the virus through the Kotoka International Airport. As things stand, international passengers arriving at Kotoka constitute the highest source of infections in the country, leading us to take drastic measures recently to prevent the importation of the virus from increasing the numbers of infections in the country. The Ghana Health Service tells us that an overwhelming majority, that is seventy-five per cent (75%), of the positive cases recorded at Kotoka have come from passengers who are not vaccinated. Beginning yesterday, Tuesday, 14th December, Government has decided that all visitors coming to Ghana have to be fully vaccinated. Furthermore, all persons seeking to travel outside the country must also be fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated passengers coming to Ghana must, in addition, be in possession of a negative PCR test of not more than seventy-two (72) hours, and also take a mandatory COVID test upon arrival at the airport. Children aged five (5) to twelve (12) will not pay for the test. Any passenger, testing positive at the airport, will be kept in isolation, at a designated isolation facility, and a non-Ghanaian will receive treatment at his or her own cost. Communications have been duly sent to all airlines flying into Ghana of the imposition of a three-thousand-five-hundred dollar (US$3,500) fine for each unvaccinated passenger that is allowed to board a flight into the country. Unvaccinated Ghanaians and residents in Ghana, who departed the country before 14th December, and who return by 28th December, will be offered vaccination on arrival at the airport. Further details will be provided by the Ghana Health Service. These are stringent measures, I know, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives. As your President, it is my duty to protect lives and livelihoods. The ravages of COVID-19 have been devastating on our economy, and I am determined to return us to our normal way of life as quickly as possible, by helping to defeat the pandemic. Fellow Ghanaians, as I indicated at the outset, the month of December elicits, naturally, an increase in the number of social gatherings in the country. I know many of you have planned either to host or attend a number of gatherings such as religious events and activities, funerals, weddings, concerts, musical shows, festivals, anniversaries, sporting events, family gatherings and parties. Nonetheless, we should be guided by what transpired last Christmas, where there was a sharp spike in the number of COVID infection cases and deaths in the immediate months of January and February 2021. We should avoid the repetition of such a scenario after this year’s Christmas celebration. We do so by: ensuring that social events are held in open spaces; ensuring that attendees wear masks; ensuring that social distancing is observed; observing enhanced hygiene protocols, such as hand washing and the use of sanitisers; and encouraging attendees, as much as possible, to come vaccinated. In as much as our active cases are now relatively low,
Parliament begins approving annual budgetary allocations for MDAs
Ghana’s parliament, on Wednesday, 15 December 2021, approved the sum of GHS 921,843,000.00 for the services of the Ministry of Transport and its agencies to carry out their programmes and activities for the 2022 fiscal year ending 31 December 2022. The allocation represents an increase of 40.13% over the 2021 budgetary allocation of GHS 657,839,197.00. The programme budget covers the ministry’s headquarters as well as the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Marine Authority, Ghana Shippers Authority, the Regional Maritime University, the Volta Lake Transport Company and the PSC Tema Shipyard. It also covers the Ministry’s Road Transport Services including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, National Road Safety Authority, Metro Mass Transport Limited, Inter-City STC Coaches Limited as well as the Government Technical Training Centre. A deputy minister of Transport, Mr Fredrick Obeng Adom, moving the motion for approval in parliament, explained that the objectives of the ministry include increasing the efficiency and capacity of port operations, ensuring the safety and security of all categories of road users and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of road transport infrastructure and services. The policy objective of the ministry, as derived from the Medium Term Development Framework, is to also enhance the contribution of inland waterways for safe and efficient transportation of goods and people and to ensure effective and effective flow of goods, services and related information to meet consumer requirements. The Chairman of the Committee Roads and Transport Committee Kennedy Nyarko Osei presenting the Committee’s report said the Committee observed with concern the arbitrary fees charged by shipping lines which significantly increase the import cost of importers and ultimately sours up cost of imported commodities. The Deputy Ranking Member of the Committee and the MP for Adaklu, Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, called for the liquidation of the position of Director of the non-existent Keta Sea Port, which he described as a drain on the nation’s scarce resources. The house has also approved the annual estimates totalling GHS575,970,000.00 for the services of the Ministry of Railway Development for the year ending 31 December 2022 instead of the required capital expenditure of GHS 2,520,033,185.00 The Minister of Railway Development, Mr Peter Amewu, in moving the motion for approval, noted that the objectives of the ministry are to modernise and extend the existing rail network, ensure effective and efficient flow of goods, services and related information to meet consumer needs as well as develop associated infrastructure to enhance well-functioning regulatory bodies. The Chairman of the Roads and Transport Committee, Mr Kennedy Nyarko Osei, in presenting the Committee’s report, disclosed that the Tema-Mpankadan standard gauge railway project is about 90% done and is expected to be fully completed in 2022. In another development, the house has approved the sum of GHS574,856,000.00 in annual estimates for the services of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation for the year ending 31 December 2022. —classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Vaccination will protect you and your family not to change your mind of voting – President Akufo-Addo
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President of the Republic of has described the assertion that getting the COVID-19 jab will change the minds of people to vote for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) against their will in the 2024 election as outrageous. Apexnewsgh.com reports According to the President during his 27 national COVID address about measures being put in place by his government to fight the pandemic on Wednesday, 15 December 2021, assuring, he said the vaccines are safe. “They will not harm you.” He said, “They will protect you and your family”. “Contrary to the mischief being peddled by some, getting vaccinated will not cause you to vote for the NPP in the 2024 elections if you do not want to”, “This is an outrageous claim”, he asserted. “Vaccination cannot change your political preferences. That is not its purpose” President pointed. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
UER: Upper East Regional Minister responds to Navrongo MP- says Airport isn’t an excuse not to visit home often
The Upper East Regional has responded to the Navrongo Central Member of Parliament Sampson Tangombu Chiragia after he complained of wanting to come home every Friday but can’t due to the unavailability of an Airport in the region. Apexnewsgh.com reports According to the Navrongo Central Member of Parliament during an exclusive interview on the 2022 budget with Apexnewsgh.com, he said not even the controversial Upper East airport was captured in the 2022 Budget, which to him, he saw as very worrying especially with the difficulty the people of Upper East go through from Tamale before getting into the region. He appealed to the government to do something by starting the construction of the Airport for the people of the region. “As for this NPP budget, not even only constituency alone benefitted anything, I will say the whole region was neglected. If you look at the budget, there is nothing there for Upper East Region. We will continue to talk even our airport, is not easy driving from Tamale to Bolga at all”. He lamented He said MPs would always want to come back home every Friday to visit their constituents and return to Accra Monday but because there is no available airport for the region, it makes impossible. “We are saying that in fact, they should be able to do something in such that, we can also go home every Friday and come back on Monday. We don’t mind whichever part of the region they are putting the airport for us, even if they go and put it in Garu, it will still be better than going to Tamale and traveling all the way to Navrongo. However, reacting to the Navrongo MP, the Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu said, if the MP cannot sacrifice for his people he doesn’t deserve their votes as an MP. “If an MP is in Accra, saying he wants to come home every weekend to see his constituents but because there is no airport he or she cannot come, I don’t think we should even vote for such Member of Parliament. Because such MP should be fighting for me and you to make sure there is an airport here. He should rather come back and sit in the region and those who are will fight for the airport will be allowed to go to parliament”. The Minister stated The Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu gave the rebuttal on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, during a press soiree organized by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC). Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Breaking News: Upper East Region to get two airports, Regional Minister hints
The Upper East Region Minister Stephen Yakubu has hinted, that the people of the Upper East Region are going to witness the construction of two Airports in the region. Apexnewsgh.com report According to the Regional Minister Mr.Yakubu, the government will be offering two Airports to Upper East Region. He said these airports should be sited in Paga for the Military and Bolgatanga for the region. The Minister gave the hints on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, during a press soiree organized by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC). Even though Regional Minister did not give any timeline for work to kick start on said airports, he said the committee setup to look into it have since submitted their reports. “My understanding is that there is going to be an airport built here and there is also going to be a Military airport in Paga. The thinking of the government is that it will help if we are moving soldiers from Tamale to here and that airport is there, you can move more troops there in case there is a problem with our boarding. So, they want to maintain that and also build a new one here”. He hinted “A committee was set and I think the committee had actually delivered their report. Personally what am doing is that I have discussed with the Minister for Transport and am bringing in some people who are building airports in Africa. I have already contacted them, I just need some information from the Ministry of Transport. The people are ready to come. He stressed The issue of Airport for the people of the Upper East Region in the past has become a controversial one among citizens themselves. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Minister Of Communications Applauds MTN Ghana Foundation For Providing A 24 Unit Classroom Block For The Police Education System
MTN Ghana has handed over a 24-unit classroom block to the Ghana Police Service’s Depot School at Tesano in Accra. The GHS 3.4 million facility contains a Nursery and Kindergarten, a Primary School Department, and a Junior High School Department serving a student population of approximately 2,500. Speaking at the event, CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, said “Our motivation for taking on this project was fueled by our understanding that the school had been operating from a colonial, weak and dilapidated structure with no decent washroom facilities, library nor ICT laboratory. I am delighted to be here today to handover this 24-unit classroom block to the Ghana Police. It is really refreshing to know that 18 months investment in time, resources and labor has produced this beautiful new classroom complex that has been put up for the Police Depot School,” Selorm Adadevoh said. “The new facility will ease the current pressure on the school and catchment area and will provide a more comfortable learning environment for teaching and learning,” he added. On his part, the Board chairman of the MTN Ghana Foundation Prof. Franklyn Manu said, “The MTN Ghana Foundation was established with the mission to improve the quality of lives of people through life enriching and sustainable corporate social responsibility interventions in communities where MTN operates. This project is a typical example of what we set out to do as a Foundation which is to identify socio-economic issues affecting our society and then partner the relevant stakeholders to find lasting solutions to them.” Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the President, Minister for Communication and Digitalization, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful applauded MTN Ghana for the amazing job of providing a safe place for teaching and learning. She urged the students to take their lessons especially ICT seriously as it will connect them to wider and limitless opportunities in Ghana and other parts of the world. Commissioner of Police, Alex Mensah, Director General Technical of the Ghana Police thanked MTN Ghana for single handedly building such a magnificent facility for the school. “To MTN all that we can say, as it is in Macbeth is ‘More is thy due, than more than all can pay’. We are very grateful and shall always remain grateful to you anytime we enter this edifice.,” COP Mensah stated. The dignitaries who attended the ceremony included the South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Madam Grace Jeanette Mason, Deputy Minister of Education, John Ntim Fordjour, Board Chairman of the NCA, Mr. Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu, Director General of NCA Joe Anokye, CEO of the Ghana Telecoms Chamber, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, MP for Okaikwei South Constituency, Honorable Darkoa Newman, Municipal Director for Education Cynthia Obuni and other Directors of Education, Officials of the Ghana Police Service and the Police Training School, School Authorities, PTA Members, Pupils and Students of Ghana Police School. The dignitaries from MTN were Board Chairman of the MTN Ghana Foundation, Prof Franklyn Manu, Mrs. Nabila Williams, Board member of MTN Ghana Foundation, some Officers of MTN and staff. Since its establishment in 2007, the MTN Ghana Foundation has invested USD 15 million in over 158 major projects in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment which are directly impacting an estimated 4 million and several others indirectly. Education is one of three focus areas of the MTN Ghana Foundation. Out of the total number of projects, the Foundation has invested in 87 education projects and they include ultra-modern Technology Laboratory for the Ghana Institute of Public Administration (GIMPA), ICT Centers for Takoradi Technical Institute, Koforidua Technical University, Bonsu Agric University and the Assistive Technology Unit at the University of Ghana, boys’ dormitory block for Akropong School for the blind, a six-unit classroom block for Kodjonya Millennium School and eight unit dormitory block for Owerriman SHS. The Foundation has also provided over 1000 scholarships for needy and brilliant students across the country under its Bright Scholarship scheme. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your adverts and credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
JUST IN: Bolgatanga Regional Hospital concessional loan facility of $20 million canceled govt looking for new sponsor–Regional Minister
The Upper East Region Minister Stephen Yakubu has revealed, that the signing of a concessional loan facility of $20 million between the governments of Ghana and Saudi Arabia in 2019 for the completion of Bolgatanga Regional Hospital has been truncated. Apexnewsgh.com report The Regional Minister made the revelation on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, during a press soiree organized by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC). BACKGROUND In September 2019, the Minister of Information, Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, at a press briefing in Techiman in the Bono East Region disclosed that the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital is expected to be completed in October 2020 following the signing of a concessional loan facility of $20 million between the governments of Ghana and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also added that the repayment of the loan would start after 10 years of signing, and indicated it would take the government 20 years to defray the loan. He said 49 percent of the loan was a grant from the people of Saudi Arabia. He, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah further pointed that the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Vice Chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development, Mr. Khalid Alkhudairy, signed the agreement in Accra on behalf of their respective governments. However, since after the October 2020 deadline for the completion of the project per the agreement, it appears the people of the Upper East Region are not getting any vital information regarding the concessional loan facility of $20 million between the governments of Ghana and Saudi Arabia. However, addressing journalists at the annual press soiree when the question was the question was asked to the Regional Minister, He said: “Concerning the hospital, i have also been following it, but the Health Minister keeps telling me that the problem is that, the Saudi people are not interested in these logistic anymore. So, that USD 20 million that was secured in 2019, you know monies are secured sometime it takes certain processes and that process somewhere can be truncated and I think, that is what has happened”. “So, my understanding is that the Ministry is trying very hard to get another sponsor so that they can then go through the procurement processes very quickly to get our logistic here so that we can open our hospital. Any time I go to Accra, I find time to go to the Ministry of Health just to fight for this hospital. So hopefully, very soon we will get money to do that. “And sometimes, when we are taxing, when we are bringing in the E-Levy and when we are trying to bring taxes for all of us to contribute….Maybe, if you have our money we should have gone to buy our thing and put it there. But when the government is trying to raise revenue up again and you are saying you cannot do this and that and now we are the same people who are crying for the roads, who are crying for the hospital, who are crying for everything. So, where do we get the money to do all these nice things we all want to enjoy? The Regional Minister concluded Meanwhile, Works are expected to be completed in October 2020, paving the way for the full operation of the hospital for affordable and quality health care to the people in the Upper East Region and beyond, especially towns and communities in and around Bolgatanga. However, somewhere in April 2020, the Deputy Regional Communication Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sunday Casper Kampoli posted this question to the President on his Facebook wall following the then announcement of building 88 hospitals across the country within a period of 8 months. Below was Sunday Casper Kampoli full post: Nana Addo where is the $20million Saudi loan approved for the Phase II of Upper East regional hospital? So Nana Addo was at his Waterloo moment once again. In his 8th Covid 19 address he promised to build 88 district hospitals, 6 Regional Hospitals in the next 8 months, 7 of the district hospitals will be in the Upper East Region. Whilst it is welcoming and good to know that Nana Addo and Bawumia have suddenly woken up from their slumber to appreciate the importance of good health facilities and are trying to take steps to fulfill one of their numerous highfalutin 2016 campaign promises, we must remind them of the state of health care facilities in the Upper East Region and what we need at this point in time to fight Covid 19. Apparently, the erstwhile NDC in its resolve to provide every region with a state of the art Hospital started the expansion of the Upper East Regional Hospital to equip it with state of the art equipment to provide health care for the people of Upper East and its environs. When the expansion works are completed the Hospital will provide Dental, Pharmacy, accident and emergency care, E&T, Eye and Mental health, Public Health and Herbal medicine, Mortuary, Blood bank, X-Ray department, etc. The expansion works was to cost the nation $48 million- 85% to be funded by the Saudi Fund and GOG to fund the 15%. Before the NDC left power in January 2017, 85% of the infrastructural works were completed. Before the NDC led by H.E. John Dramani Mahama: the regime that secured the $12 million for the first phase, left government in January 2017, 85% of the Phase I works were completed. However, after Nana Addo and Bawumia took over the governance of the country they have not prioritize the project up till today. But on the 1st of March 2019, Parliament unanimously approved $20million loan from the Saudi Fund for the second phase of the Upper East Regional Hospital but a year on, the phase II of the expansion works which is the equipping of regional hospital has not started and the whereabouts of the $20million is not known. Is it true that the money has been diverted? If it