Kumawu Chief Calls Out Akufo-Addo Over Stalled Mahama Hospital

The paramount Chief of Kumawu in the Ashanti Region has taken advantage of the vibe around President Akufo-Addo’s promise to build new hospitals in 88 districts, and 6 new Regional Hospitals across the country, to remind him of an uncompleted district Hospital that is overgrown with weeds in Kumawu.

Barima Tweneboah Koduah, in an interview, told journalists that the people of Kumawu are fed up and have therefore stopped weeding around the stalled Kumawu district Hospital project site in anticipation of President Akufo-Addo’s promise from 2019 to complete the Hospital.

“The Health Minister came here and promised us that in two weeks’ time contractors to be on site. But nothing has happened. The President has also visited me and repeated similar promise, but nothing has happened. I have in anticipation, been organizing the people to weed there in preparation for the construction, but we have done that several times without anybody turning to do the construction. We are fed up and have stopped weeding the place.”

Barima Tweneboah Kodua’s frustration comes six months after President Akufo-Addo and Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, had visited Kumawu in October 2019 and promised to mobilize contractors to complete the 120-bed facility that had been started by the Mahama Government.

After that promise, however, the President and the Minister were never heard of until Akufo-Addo’s recent grandiloquent promise to build 84 new hospitals around the country in just one year.

Many have already laughed off the promise as a gimmick from a President facing an election. But on the ground, it remains true that even uncompleted hospital projects that the previous government bequeathed to the current government have mostly not been completed. The Kumawu and Fomena district hospitals are examples.

These hospitals are part of facilities financed by the UK Export financing and work was scheduled to be completed in October 2016.

In July 2019, ahead of a visit to Kumawu by President Akufo-Addo, Health Minister had brought the people a cheerful harbinger, saying contractors would be remobilized in weeks to finish the 120-bed facility.

“I have got the go-ahead from Government that contractors should continue with three that were getting close to completion. They Kumawu one is about 60% complete and therefore in the Ashanti region, these two could start. “God willing, before the end of the month, we will mobilize to site and start working” Mr. Health Minister had promised to wild applause.

This was followed later with a visit from President Akufo-Addo in October 2019 who reiterated the promise to complete the district hospital which the people of Kumawu says would be a game-changer for them.