They are located at Dro­bonso in the Sekyere Afram Plains District, Sabronum in the Ahafo Ano South East District, Twedie in the Atwima Kwanwoma District and Suame in the Suame Municipal area.

Also commissioned was the Atafoa-Owabi river bridge project which was substantially completed and taken over in October, this year.

It is recalled that in 2020, the Health Ministry broke the ground for work to commence on the construction of 12 40-bed hospitals in Ashanti, Eastern, Greater Accra regions and one polyclinic at Mim, in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Constructed by VAMED Engineering Company of Austria, the other areas where these hospitals have been built across the country include Jumapo, Kwabeng, Nkwa­tia, Achiase, Adukrom, Mim and Kpone Katamanso.

The government secured a €71,500,000 facility from Erste Group Bank AG and ?eská Spo?itelna a.s, towards the construc­tion and equipping of these 40-bed hospi­tals, which also includes 12-units of 2-bed­room semi-detached accommodation for hospital workers at each of the facilities.

In addition to the residential accommo­dation for the staff of the hospitals, the hospitals are equipped with an Out-Patient Department with the requisite consulting rooms, Public Health Department with 36-seater capacity waiting room, three ante-natal consulting rooms, a counselling room and two offices for Public Health officers.

It also includes a theatre consisting of one surgical suite, 8-bed paediatric ward, 8-bed male ward, 8-bed female ward, four labour delivery stations, 8-bed maternity ward, 4-bed lying-in and 2-bed recovery room.

President Akufo-Addo urged the staff and the people of the areas to ensure that the facilities were adequately administered and maintained to ensure that government’s commitment to improving the health status of all residents in the country through improving health care infrastructure was realised.

At Atafoa, where the bridge was commis­sioned, the atmosphere was charged with a tumultuous celebration of the event with some of the people recalling the number of persons who had died as they were swept away by flood in the area.

In 2023, four persons were killed while six people were also killed in 2022.

The road project, started in 2023 was a rehabilitation of a four-km road from Abre­po junction-Barekese road through Offinso road with asphaltic concrete surfacing termi­nating at Kokoben.

Among the scope of work, were the con­struction of road side concrete drains and major cross culverts to improve drainage on the road, and the construction of 40 metre span reinforced concrete bridge at Atafoa over River Owabi.

Roads and Highways Minister, during his speech, offered a minute’s silence for the departed souls.

He said the bridge would serve as a lifeline and enabler of economic growth, a solution to a long standing challenge and a symbol of government’s commitment to connecting people to places and opportunities.

For years, he observed, residents had been living in fear anytime the river got flooded, and praised the government for its commit­ment to serving the people.

The President used the event to call on voters to vote for the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, stressing “we have the responsibility to find a way to persuade the Ghanaian people to make the right choice”.

He said many of the ideas of the gov­ernment had come from the Vice President and was the best choice for the nation…”for me there is no choice, the only choice is Dr Bawumia”.

On the economy, he said it was bouncing back…”the economy in Ghana is turning in our fate, the last quarter of the year, the rate of growth of Gross Domestic Product was 6.9 per cent doubled when the National Democratic Congress was leaving office in 2016”.