Kwahu North District Assembly to sponsor nurses

Abetifi, July, 21, GNA - The Kwahu East District Assembly is to sponsor 30 nursing trainees at nursing training colleges this year. The move is aimed at equipping all health institutions in the district with nurses to solve the problem of lack of health professionals at clinics and health posts in the area. Mr Samuel Asamoah, the District Chief Executive, told the Ghana News Agency at Abetifi on Tuesday that the assembly had made a budget provision for the sponsorship programme because lack of nurses and other health professionals in the area was affecting progress of the new district.

Mr Asamoah said the move was part of the president's promise of investing in people and creating equal opportunity for all Ghanaians. He said his recent visit to some parts of the district revealed that some health centres lacked nurses and other health professionals. People travel long distances to Atibie Government and Holy Family hospitals at Nkawkaw to seek medical care.

Mr Asamoah spoke about falling standards in education in the area and attributed it to lack of teachers in basic schools. He said the assembly would sponsor teacher trainees at teacher training colleges next year so that when they finish their courses they would be posted to schools in the district

The Kwahu East District Assembly was created a little over a year ago out of the Kwahu South District and lacks a lot of infrastructural development including office and staff accommodation.

Mr Asamoah said the district assembly is being housed temporarily at the Abetifi Community Centre while he and other officials are living in rented premises.

He said the assembly would begin construction works on the new office complex before the end of the year at a site allocated to them by the Kwahumanhene, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng. He said the high rate of unemployment in the district was another area which would be tackled and as a first step the assembly is establishing youth counselling centres to receive information about the youth and see how to tackle their problems.

Mr Asamoah decried the poor nature of road network in the district, which he said had contributed to lack of teachers and health professionals in the area.

He said the assembly had decided to rehabilitate some major roads and construct others to open up the district. They include Nkwantanang- Hyewohoden, Kwahu Tafo- Kotoso, Nteso-Miaso, Akwasiho- Suminakese, which is under construction, Hweehwee-Oyamso and Abetifi-Pepease.