UK-Based Ghanaian Investor Builds Hospital

A UK-based Ghanaian medical doctor and investor, Alhaji Ibrahim Yaro, has praised the government of the New Patriotic Party for creating a condusive investment climate that makes it ideal for the country to attract massive investment flow both foreign and local.

The British-trained psychotherapist from Sefton General Hospital, Liverpool was speaking in an exclusive interview with the ADM after the commissioning of a two-and-half-billion-cedi ultra modern hospital, which he built through his private initiative at Nima in Accra at the weekend.

Moments after the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheik I.C. Quaye commissioned the clinic, residents of Nima, Mamobi and other surrounding areas took their turns to have a view of the medical facility and its state-of-the-art medical equipment.

AlhajiYaro said he had experienced at first hand the kind of investment climate the government created, which made it possible for him to establish his multi-billion cedi clinic and promised to carry the message to Ghanaian investors abroad to come home and help contribute their quota towards building a vibrant economy.

The hospital, christened Alhaji Yaro Abdulai Memorial Clinic and Maternity, has a maternity ward, diagnostic laboratory, out-patients facility, two surgical operating theatres, a twenty-bed ward, and treatment rooms for emergencies.

It will handle cases of general medicine and surgery and provide a 24- hour service. Alhaji Yaro is hopeful that his initiative will bring healthcare to the less fortunate and deprived communities within the Accra metropolis at affordable cost, adding that their services will be competitive and will initially target the poor at Nima-Mamobi and its catchments.

Commenting on problems importers face at the Tema Port, he said the government should consider fine-tuning the laws at the ports and remove cumbersome procedures for clearing goods that create undue delays and huge financial loss to importers.

He also appealed to the government to consider reducing taxes on medical equipment imported into the country as way of attracting investment into the health sector.

The Regional Minister, Sheik Quaye urged private medical practitioners to continue with their good work and never worry about the National Health Insurance Scheme because they have a major role to play when the scheme comes into operation by the first quarter of this year.

He said there was the need for people to be conscious of their health and make regular medical check-ups to ensure diseases were detected and treated at earlier stages to save life and conserve resources.