KATH Mother & Baby Unit Finally Demolished
The Ashanti regional minister and some government officials have toured various ongoing projects in the Ashanti regional capital to ascertain the level of completion. The areas visited included the over 45-year-old Mother And Baby Unit at KATH which is currently undergoing demolition, the second phase of the Kumasi Central Market Project, the Krofrom Market, and finally to the Kumasi International Airport.
Demolition of the 45-year-Old Mother and Baby Block at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has started to pave way for the new Mother and Baby Block at the same premises.
According to the Ministry of Health, evidence from several technical, architectural and structural tests on the building suggested that the integrity of the structure in its current state could not be guaranteed.
Randy J. Abubakar of Kessben media who followed the tour also confirmed the presence of heavy equipment available at the scene to pull down the heavy structure, meanwhile, the topmost part of the building had already gone down, and the remaining underway.
The demolition exercise would continue in the coming days and afterward, the monies raised by the government to complete the old project would be used to build a new MBU instead.
This was because, the weak foundations, rusty iron rods, poor quality of the concrete beams, excessive corrosion of the re-bars, and other defects raised serious concerns about the ability and sustainability of the structure to withstand the test of time.
Speaking at the close of the tour, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah, said, the construction of the new Mother and Baby Block would not attract any additional cost.
According to him, the same amount of 138 million Euros that was earmarked to complete the old MBU would be used to construct the new facility to help boost health care delivery at KATH.
He noted that it was better to have a new building than to continue with the old one which could collapse in the near future and plunge the country into a serious mess.
The consultant to the project announced that six months has been earmarked as a period for the building to be reduced into rubble to pave way for the new one.
Source: kessbenonline.com Story: Randy J. Abubakar
