YAMFO DRIVERS WORRIED OVER DAMAGE BRIDGE

Story: Michael Sarpong Mfum, Yamfo

Drivers at Yamfo in the Tano North District of the Brong Ahafo Region are worried they will be out of job in this rainy this is because of the inability of the Tano North District Assembly to reconstruct the damage bridge that links the Community and other towns in the Brong Ahafo Region.

According to the drivers, several appeals made to the Tano North District Assembly to reconstruct the broken bridge have not yielded any results. The drivers say it has become extremely difficult to cart foodstuff to market centres in the district.

Yaw Osei, a driver who plies Yamfo –Sunyani says it has become difficult to cross the broken bridge the links Yamfo and Susuaso during the rainy season.

“We the drivers in Yamfo here are suffering because the broken bridge is affecting our job. We have made several appeals to the district Assembly but they have not done anything about it. We are part of Ghana so the country must come to our aid or they should not come here to do any campaign as the elections approach,” he disclosed.

An Independent Parliamentary in the Tano North Constituency, Albert Nda Hayford Biney says the broken bridge is affecting farmers from carting foodstuff to market centres in the district.

“Most of the residents in the district are farmers and has become very difficult for them to cart their foodstuff to the market centres in the district because of the bad road network. Most of the farmers have to leave their foodstuff because of the exorbitant lorry fares from drivers who ply the roads. When approaching Yamfo from Susuaso the only bridge linking these two communities is broken and it’s difficult to travel on it because the rains have washed all the sand leaving the cement culvert,” Mr. Biney observed.

SPECIALISTS REFUSE POSTING TO BA REGIONAL HOSPITAL

Story: Michael Sarpong Mfum, Sunyani

                                                         Sunyani Regional Hospital

Specialists posted to the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital, Sunyani are refusing postings to the facility because of accommodation problems.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital is in dire need of accommodation because of the failure of the contractors who built the hospital, International Hospital Group to construct a 200 residential accommodation as part of the contract for the staff of the hospital.

Mr. Asare Bediako, Administrator of the hospital in an interview in Sunyani said the hospital is also losing many specialists to other hospitals in the country because of inadequate accommodation.

“When these specialists are posted to the hospital and they realize that the accommodation meant for them is a rent apartment somewhere in town, they would tell you they are going for their things but will never return by the time you realize they are at Kumasi or Accra, this is really affecting the hospital” he noted.

Mr. Bediako revealed that the running of the hospital has become difficult because of the absence of adequate accommodation for staff.

“No accommodation unit was built in addition to this ultra modern hospital that you see. Though the International Hospital Group, a United Kingdom building construction firm who constructed the 300-bed ultra modern capacity hospital were supposed to have build a 200-unit accommodation but not a single unit was built, information we have shows that an amount was paid to the contractors to build the accommodation unit for the staff. We have to rent hotels in the Sunyani Municipality, to be used as accommodation for staff. The owners of these hotels, are businesspersons and have converted their hotels into accommodation for our staffs, this is expensive, averagely we pay GH 500 averagely on a room monthly,” Mr. Bediako disclosed.

The situation is currently having a toll on the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) of the hospital. Funds meant for the replacement of old equipment, purchase of drugs and maintenance of facilities are being diverted to rent accommodation for staff, thus draining the finances of the hospital.He said several appeals made to the appropriate authorities to bring the International Hospital Group to book, but all their efforts have yielded any good results.