Speaker Directs Energy Minister To Find Lasting Solution to Power Cut at Tain Hospital
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP) for Fomena constituency, Mr Andrew Amoako-Asiamah has directed two ministries, Health and Energy to find a lasting solution to challenges of electricity disconnection at the various health facilities across the country including Tain Hospital.
This directive came up when MP for Tain constituency, Hon Adama Sulemana made a statement on the floor of Parliament calling on government to intercede by paying off an electricity bill of GHC7,000,000.
According to the MP, the said amount has led to the disconnection of electricity in Tain District Hospital located in Nsawko, the district capital since December 12, 2023.
Mr Adama further indicated that Tain District Hospital is a 60-bed capacity hospital, an ultra morden facility which serves the people of Banda and Tain districts and its environs. The facility also has an average attendance of 3,800 patients a month.
“Mr Speaker, since commencement of operations in the new facility on 6th September 2021, the facility has been billed electricity to a sum of GHC7,731,132 and monthly bills come between GHC350,000 and GHC500,000.”
Hon Adama also stated that despite an agreement between Ministry of Health and NEDCo reached that no facilities should be disconnected, the hospital facility was disconnected from the National Grid on Friday 13th October 2023, and due to that a lot of medical equipment have been destroyed and three (3) valuable life of people have been lost.
Some members of Parliament used the opportunity to express their worry about the new policy shift of government since June 2023 asking all health facilities to pay their electricity bills with their internally generated funds ( IGF) which is causing a lot of problems for these facilities leading to several power disconnections at these facilities.
Majority Leader Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu in his contribution called on Health Committee to investigate the matter as to why Tain district hospital is paying high electricity bills to the tune of GHC500,000.
Story by Nana Kwaku Boffah.
