President John Dramani Mahama, said on Thursday in Wa that the Upper Regional Hospital, which is the flagship of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would be ready for use in February next year.
The 160 – bed capacity hospital project is currently 75 per cent complete and all equipment for it had arrived at the port, President Mahama told the Wala Traditional Council during a courtesy call on Wa-Naa, Naa Seidu Fuseini Pelpuo, the overlord of the Wa Traditional Area.
President Mahama arrived in Wa Thursday morning as part of his accounting to the people tour of the regions, inspected works on the Regional Hospital, some projects at the Wa Campus of the University for Development Studies and inaugurated the Wa Regional Library.
He expressed happiness with works on the hospital project because it would serve as a critical component of the socio–economic development of the people through access to quality health services.
President Mahama expressed hope that the hospital when completed would help address the challenges of the health needs of the people in the region.
He pleaded with the people to have patient with government for the delay of the facility, explaining that it was as a result of disputes between the main contractor and the sub-let contractor.
President Mahama said social infrastructure development across Ghana had improved under the NDC government.
He announced that 16 kilometres of Wa Town Roads as well as some district town roads in the region would be asphalted while the Bole-Wa portion of the Wa-Kumasi main road would be developed into dual carriage road to facilitate the free movement of goods, services and people.
He also announced that efforts are being made to expand the Wa Airstrip to enable commercial flight between neighbouring states, such as Burkina Faso, and Mali and also facilitate business transactions between the region and other parts of Ghana.
On the youth employment, President Mahama said 100,000 youth have been earmarked to be engaged in some of the models under the Youth Employment Authority and advised the youth to take advantage of it and contribute their quota to national development.
Naa Pelpuo commended President Mahama for recognising traditional rulers as development partners who assist the government to work to sustain peace in the communities for development.
He said the Wala Traditional Council has a lot to be grateful to the government for the numerous development projects, such as health, roads and education infrastructure among other provided them.
Naa Pelpuo was thankful to the government for developing the Wa Naa Palace and pleaded with President Mahama to consider expanding roads in the Wa Municipal into dual carriage roads to ease vehicular congestion.
He appealed to government to give priority attention to the provision of infrastructure to the Islamic Senior High School, while gratitude to government for expansion work at the Wa Airstrip to improve transportation.
The Wa-Naa said the current Wa Regional Hospital has no x-ray machines and appealed to President Mahama to give due consideration to providing the hospital with such a machine to stop patients from travelling long distance in search of x-rays services.
GNA
