Mahama Inspects Effia Nkwanta Hospital Expansion, Assures Completion of Project

President John Dramani Mahama has expressed his satisfaction with the ongoing expansion works at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, assuring residents of the Western Region that the project will be completed and transformed into a first-class teaching hospital.

During an inspection tour of the facility on Tuesday October 21,2025 , Mr. Mahama emphasized that the project forms part of a broader plan to decentralize healthcare delivery and ease the burden on existing facilities.

“The intention behind these projects is to spread out our health facilities so that we don’t have too much pressure on only one facility,” President Mahama said. “Effia Nkwanta has been the main referral hospital for the entire Western Region, and so it became necessary to expand it while also constructing a second Regional Hospital at Apemenyim.”

President Mahama also revealed that, compared to the Apemenyim project, the Effia Nkwanta expansion was more advanced.

“We visited Apemenyim earlier, and that one is far behind this project. Here, I’m told work is about 45 percent complete,” he explained. “The contractors have briefed us on the work they’re doing, and I must say, it’s very impressive.”

Mahama assured residents that discussions were ongoing between the Ministry of Finance and contractors to validate outstanding claims and ensure that payments are made promptly to allow work to resume in full force.

“We are working with the Ministry of Finance and the contractors to make sure that all claims are validated and paid, so that they can return to site and continue the good work they’re doing,” he noted.

The expansion, he added, is designed to elevate the hospital’s capacity and status.

“The expansion of this hospital is to make it into a first-class teaching hospital,” Mr. Mahama said confidently. “Very soon, the contractor will be back on site to continue the work.”

Touching on the issue of project continuity, the President reiterated his long-standing stance that development should not be halted by changes in government.

“One of the practices that has drawn Ghana back is that when a new government comes, it does not continue the work the previous government was doing,” he said. “But governance is like a relay race — one government passes the baton to the next. This is a baton the previous government passed on to us, and we will carry it forward.”

Mr. Mahama stressed that public funds invested in the project would not go to waste.

“The money that has gone into this building is the money of the Ghanaian taxpayer. We’re not going to let it go to waste. We’ll continue and finish this project,” he assured.

He concluded with a promise that his next visit to Effia Nkwanta would be for the commissioning of the completed facility.

“The next time we gather here, I will not be coming to inspect the project — I will be coming to commission it,” he declared.