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 is true that the money has been diverted, thus you think you can use 7 district hospitals to compensate for that, my president you got it very wrong; the people of Upper East won’t accept that.
If there’s a health facility in the Upper East that is of a priority to the people, it is the current state of our Hospital. The hospital is a Regional Hospital by name but not by health care delivery.
So, Mr. president please look for the necessary resources to implement phase II of the expansion works of the Hospital to equip the Hospital to help us fight this deadly novel Covid 19.
I am a citizen, not a spectator!
Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen
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