AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine has performed a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a theatre, laboratory and dispensary for the Akrokerri Hospital in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti Region.
The hospital, which serves the town and neighbouring communities, has not seen any major upgrade in its facilities since it was established in February 1960.
The upgrade is in response to the infrastructural deficit and forms part of the intervention programmes under the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) of AngloGold Ashanti, launched in 2022.
Mr Eric Kwaku Kusi, the District Chief Executive (DCE), who joined the AngloGold Ashanti officials to cut the sod, lauded the mining company for the plethora of interventions it had rolled out over the years, especially in the 10-year SEDP.
He was optimistic that the expansion works would welcome more health workers to the facility to improve the quality of healthcare service delivery in the town and its surrounding communities.
Nana Serwaa Bru
waa II, the Queen Mother of Akrokerri, expressed worry over the current state of the health facility, which had not seen any major renovation since its establishment.
She said the importance of the hospital in rendering quality services to residents could not be overemphasised and commended AngloGold Ashanti for the rehabilitation works, which was a welcomed relief.
Mr Eric Atuahene, the District Director of Health Services, disclosed plans to upgrade the hospital into a polyclinic to offer enhanced services in Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Antenatal, and General OPD care, amongst others.
Mr Edmund Oduro Agyei, the Community Relations Manager of AngloGold Ashanti, said the construction of the facilities were in fulfilment of the corporate social responsibility of the company to the people of Adansiman.
It was committed to improving the lives of people in its host communities and would continue to deliver on its promises as captured in the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan, he said.
The project, being
executed by Crisspan Company Limited, an Obuasi-based contractor, is expected to be completed in September, this year.
Source: Ghana News Agency
WINDHOEK: The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, says the ministry will put the N.dollars 10.8 billion it received to good use.
Shangula was reacting to Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi’s 2024/25 budget tabling speech delivered in the National Assembly on Wednesday. He told Nampa that they are going to do more with the money they have been allocated with.
‘This is the first time that the Ministry of Health and Social Services gets N.dollars 10 billion since its inception and we are quite comfortable with that, not only with the amount of money we received but also how we deploy the resources that are made available to us, which is critically important,’ Shangula said.
He has since urged members of the public to be grateful for whatever amounts each sector received.
‘Let us understand that there is only so much money that can be distributed. Not everyone will be catered for, just like in our own homes. We must understand this at a macro level and appreciate what we received,’ Shang
ula stressed.
He further maintained that the 2024/25 budget is one of the best to have ever been tabled in the National Assembly.
‘I wish to congratulate the Minister of Finance for a well-crafted budget. It touched on all aspects of our human endeavour and it is a positive budget in the sense that almost all sectors got an increase in the appropriation,’ he added.
He noted that much emphasis has been put on capital development to ensure that the investment in some sectors drives the economy forward, so that more money will be available to the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), to redistribute to other sectors.
‘It is a well-balanced budget,’ Shangula told this news agency.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency