‘Neglected’ Ofankor Health Centre to open in August; MP hints

Member of Parliament for Trobu Constituency in the newly-created Ga North Municipality says the newly-built Ofankor Health Centre would be opened to the public by August this year.

Equipment needed to be installed and make the facility operational are going through the procurement process, Moses Anim said on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM Friday.

“We want to start in a more standard but in a small way while we wait on the Ministry of Health to come and procure the full complement of that hospital,” Anim told the show's host Daniel Dadzie.

The Ofankor Health Centre, located about two kilometres off the Ofankor barrier on the Achimota-Nsawam highway, was built as a social project following the construction of the 15-kilometre Pokuase-Awoshie highway. It is expected to serve residents of Asofa, Ofankor, Omanjo, Dwenewoho, Mensah Addo, Parts of Sowutuom and some other communities within the Ga West Municipality.

Funding for the project was procured from the African Development Bank through the Urban Roads Department of Ministry of Roads, under the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor.

The physical structure was completed in 2016 and handed to the Urban Roads Department but equipment to make it operational as a medical facility, has yet to be procured by the Health Ministry.

Residents say they continue to travel long distances to Amasaman where the nearest government health facility is located, to access healthcare. “This hospital will serve us very well if it was functioning,” a resident told Super Morning show Host, Daniel Dadzie. “Two months ago, we saw people weeding the lawns which gave us the impression that they [government] were coming to open it soon but we’ve heard nothing since,” a woman lamented.

Moses Anim

Meanwhile, miscreants have taken advantage of the apparent delay in getting the facility functional, stealing at least three air conditioners.

But Moses Anim, who is also Deputy Majority Chief Whip, blamed the delay on budget overrun “and as a result they only put up the structure without equipping it.” And the Municipal Assembly is unable to provide funding for the procurement of the needed equipment, he added.

Through his initiative and with the help of some citizens from the area, they have been able to provide items such as beds and some furniture, he disclosed adding that soon the facility will be opened to provide some basic healthcare to the residents while they wait for the Health Ministry to do the necessary procurements to make it fully operational.

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