The Member of Parliament (MP) for Mfantsiman Constituency, Dr. Ebenezer Prince Arhin, has resolved the long-standing water crisis at the Saltpond Government Hospital, handing over an ultra-modern water project to serve patients and staff.
Handing over the project to the hospital authorities, Dr. Prince Arhin recalled that during his campaign visit to the hospital, he discovered that patients had to buy bags of sachet water before they could receive treatment.
In view of this, the MP said he had promised to resolve the water crisis in Mfantsiman, and at Saltpond Hospital in particular, if given the opportunity to serve the people of the constituency.
“I remember that before becoming a Member of Parliament, nine (9) months into my election, this whole municipality was confronted with a water crisis, to the point that any time we visited Saltpond Hospital, patients were told to go and buy bags of sachet water before they got treatment.”
The MP made these remarks when he, together with the Municipal Chief Executive of Mfantsiman, Mr. Eric Stanley Acquah, and the Founder of the Mfantsiman Saltpond Development Alliance (MSDA), Mr. Ernest De-Graft Egyir, visited Saltpond Hospital to commission the water project and a 10-seater toilet facility aimed at improving sanitation in the area.
Dr. Prince Arhin also disclosed that Saltpond Hospital had about fifty (50) casual workers who were not on its payroll, and that the hospital’s limited internally generated funds (IGF) were being used to cover staff compensation as a result.
He promised to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
Dr. Prince Arhin has spearheaded major sanitation and water interventions for Mankessim, Saltpond and Hini, aimed at ending the water crisis and open defecation in the Mfantsiman Constituency.
Hospital Applauds Restoration of Dignity
For his part, the Medical Superintendent of the Saltpond Government Hospital, Dr John Moses Wereku, said the hospital, the second oldest in the country, had faced a serious water crisis and applauded the Member of Parliament for Mfantsiman, Dr Prince Arhin, for restoring the facility’s dignity.
“Two (2) years ago, when we had an outbreak of cholera, it became a very big challenge, such that the hospital had to spend more than GH¢50,000 to get water for staff and patients. So this water project and the mechanised borehole are the first of their kind at the Saltpond Municipal Hospital,” he stressed.
Dr. Moses Wereku said Saltpond Municipal Hospital serves thousands of patients and their relatives, but inadequate toilet facilities and inconsistent water supply had been among their biggest challenges.
He said the MP’s provision of the water project would go a long way toward helping staff improve health delivery in the Central Region and Ghana as a whole.
MSDA’s Contribution
A development-oriented organisation for Mfantsiman and Saltpond, the Mfantsiman Saltpond Development Alliance (MSDA), which witnessed the handing-over ceremony, had earlier provided a 50,000-litre automated water supply system to the same facility.
The Founder of MSDA, Mr. Ernest De-Graft Egyir, who witnessed the ceremony, appealed to the health authorities at the beneficiary facility to ensure that it is well maintained.
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