News:
October 29, 2012
Parliament has approved a loan facility of 43,784,093 Pounds Sterling to continue the completion of the redevelopment of the Ghana Police Hospital in Accra which has been halted for some time.
The amount would enable the hospital to expand access and efficiently discharge its primary duty of delivering quality healthcare in the country.
Work on the project, which started in 2002 and was to cost some 21 million pounds sterling, was put on hold due to financial difficulties, but inflationary adjustments from 2003 and addition of a new mortuary in the project, has increased the total cost to the amount approved by Parliament.
The HSBC Bank Plc, with support by the United Kingdom Government’s Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) is financing the project through a buyer’s credit loan agreement with the Government of Ghana.
The contract sum amount to 40,125,714 pounds sterling with Government of Ghana component of 645,596 pounds sterling and an ECGD premium of 3,658,379 sterling.
Mr Alban Bagbin, Minister of Health who was in Parliament was excited at the decision to put life back into the project which had taken too long a time to complete.
He stated that the Police Hospital, established in 1976, very instrumental in the health delivery service in Ghana lack adequate support in terms of infrastructure and equipment, adding that the urgency for expansion and supply of equipment to the hospital was in the right direction.
The ranking member on the Finance Committee and MP for Old Tafo, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, who also contributed to the motion for the approval of the loan, noted that the Hospital very key in health delivery in Ghana must be given all the necessary push to improve on its delivery.
Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh