Sewua Regional Hospital will create more jobs - Minister

The Ashanti regional Minister, Hon Simon Osei Mensah has hinted that the construction of the regional hospital at Sewua in the Bosomtwe district will create more jobs for the people in the area and its neighboring towns.

He said aside the professional jobs such as that of doctors, nurses and others, all the non-professional jobs will be given to the local people. This, he explained, will help them generate income for themselves.

To this end, the government is speeding up the completion of the project.

Hon Simon Osei Mensah made these remarks on Thursday, November 23, 2017 when he paid a courtesy call on Sewuahene Amoako Sarkodie as part of his regional tour.

He said the construction of the regional hospital will also better the quality of health care in the region.

"It seems many people don't know the essence of the construction of the regional hospital but you have to know that if it is completed it will create more jobs and generate income for you," Hon. Osei Mensah assured.

"Aside the professional jobs such as doctors, nurses and others, all the rest of the non-professional jobs will be given to you, shop owners will generate more income, those who have lands will sell them for high prices and others," he noted.

He revealed that the government is paying attention to the project because provision of the health care for the people is a priority of the government.

On 20th February 2015, the Minister of Health, Dr. Agyemang-Manu handed over the site to the contractor, Euroget, for the construction of a 250-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital.

The project, which is being financed by the government at a cost of $63 million, was expected to be completed within 20 months. It is sited on a 30 acre land at Sewua in the Bosomtwe district of the Ashanti Region.

At a ceremony to hand the site to the contractor, Dr.Agyemang-Manu said the project held lots of prospects for the region and the Sewua community and entreated the contractor to sublet some of the jobs to the local people to generate income.

The Former Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe constituency entreated the people to do all within their power to support the project to completion since other people sought the project for their communities.

He revealed that plans are underway to create access roads to the project site.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, as part of his tour to the Bosomtwe district, also visited the Oyoko Community Day school, to know the challenges of the school.

The community school, one of the E- Block Community Day Schools built by the erstwhile NDC administration, had admitted students for the first time, and also under the free SHS policy currently introduced by the Nana Addo government.

Unfortunately, the students are battling to live a relatively decent school lives because the day school has to improvise to absorb student, especially, from outside the community into the school, as borders.

However brilliant the idea of absorbing students into the facility is, government does not recognize it to be a boarding facility. And, the regional minister suggests it is time to rapidly move to ensure the Oyoko day school, and many others with similar challenges are converted and recognized by government as boarding school.

The minister's visit to the school revealed a rather disturbing situation that both students and teachers face in acquiring and imparting quality education.

For instance, the school is not completely constructed as purported by the NDC government. No electricity connection to the school, as boarders, particular, the girls had tough times during the nights with less supervision.

There is no kitchen to provide the hot meal component of the free SHS policy, to the day students, talk less of providing lunch and supper for the boarders.

Food has to be prepared in town and then transported to the school before the students can eat.

The entire compound is not paved. One major thing that saddened the minister was the water they use to bath and therefore, had to rely on sachet water.