Kpassa Agenda 111 District Hospital misses completion date - Residents appeal for expedited work

Work on the Agenda 111 District Hospital project at Kpassa in the Nkwanta-North District in the Oti Region has missed the deadline for completion.

The project is currently about 65 per cent complete, falling short of the January 2024 completion deadline that had been assured the residents. The 60-bed capacity project, which started in August 2022, was scheduled to be completed and made operational in January this year, to serve more than 120,000 residents of the district and surrounding areas.

When the former Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, and the Presidential Advisor on Health at the Office of the President, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, visited the project site on September 11, 2023, the project was about 30.8 per cent complete.

Mr Oppong-Nkrumah had said the needed funding had been secured for the project to be completed on schedule.

Progress report

However, when the Daily Graphic visited the site of the project on April 24, it came to light that the project was about 35 per cent from the completion point, meaning it was only 65 per cent complete.

Workers of the lead contractor, Venus Infrastructure, were on site working on various aspects of the project, while the other two contractors were not on site. The workers on site were working on the roof slabs of the walkways stretching from the administration block through the reception, out-patient department (OPD), female block, pediatric unit, the male block, as well as the laundry and energy centre.

Some of the workers were also seen doing plastering at the surgical department, with others also laying waterproof membrane at the female block. Carpenters were working on concrete slabs while the plumbers were doing plumbing works, with chiselling and laying of pipes ongoing at the electrical section.

The surgical block of the main hospital and residential blocks were yet to be roofed, while the generator yard was still being built.

Cause of delay

The Resident Consultant of the Agenda 111 Project at Kpassa, Wonder Dzamade, said if all three contractors were on site, it would be possible to complete the project within a reasonable timeframe.

Mr Dzamade stopped short of telling the Daily Graphic what had delayed the project when asked. “I cannot be specific on what has caused the delay, but projects delay for many reasons, including delayed release of funds, non-availability of materials and technical challenges,” he said.

Meanwhile some casual workers the Daily Graphic interacted with said they suspected the project could have delayed because of irregular flow of funds to the contractors.

Appeal

In an interview with the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Nkwanta-North, William Kidignan Nawugma, he said it was important for the needed resources to be made available for the completion of the project.

“The people of Nkwanta-North need improved health care and therefore, they are waiting for this project to be completed. As the DCE of this area, I join my people to call for speedy completion of the project; I want to see the hospital in operation before I leave office,” he said.

Some residents of Kpassa called for the speedy completion of work on the hospital to improve on the quality of life of the people. One of the residents, Waja Bikatui, said if the hospital became operational, it would eliminate the current situation where residents of Nkwanta-North travel long distances to other districts or regions to access health care.

“Most of the time, patients are referred to Ho in the Volta Region or Tamale in the Northern Region for health care, and this is worrying,” he said.