Tamale, May 19, GNA - A Tamale based construction company has donated two 21-inch television sets and two video decks valued at 10 million cedis to the Tamale and Savelugu Children's Homes.

Alhaji Saddique Abubakar Boniface, the Northern Regional Minister who presented the items on behalf of the company, appealed to the well-endowed in the society to assist their less privileged compatriots, especially the physically challenged.

He said the television sets were a good investment for the schools as they would give the children access to information and also serve as a source of entertainment.

Mrs Emaculate Attoriyah, the Headmistress of the Tamale Children's Home who received the items, thanked Kwaku Brothers Construction Company Ltd for the donation and expressed the hope that other organizations and individuals would help in the upkeep of the two homes. In another development, Alhaji Boniface has paid a visit to the Tamale Teaching Hospital to inspect progress of work on the rehabilitation of the hospital.

Dr Daniel Tapang, the Chief Executive of the hospital, said work had come to a standstill, creating the impression that the government was no longer interested in upgrading the hospital into a teaching hospital. He assured the people of the Northern Region that the government had not abandoned its commitment of transforming the facility into a teaching hospital and the establishment of a School of Medicine attached to it.

Dr Tapang said the World Bank had provided funding for the rehabilitation of the hospital and a consultant had been given the job to open an international bidding for the contract. Alhaji Boniface assured the hospital authorities that he would facilitate the speedy rehabilitation of the hospital, which he described as "being in a state of total disrepair". The Regional Minister commended the few doctors and nurses who had not joined their colleagues to seek "greener pastures" but had remained in the country to render service to the people.