Accra, June 29, GNA - The National Ambulance Service has taken delivery of 91 new ambulances, which would be distributed to health facilities across the country according to a criteria developed by the Ghana Health Service and other stakeholders, Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, a Deputy Minister of Health said in Parliament on Thursday.

He said facilities to benefit from the distribution of the ambulances include those close to major highway and accident-prone locations, all regional capitals, districts without ambulances and those in deprived areas in terms of health facilities, among others. The Deputy Minister said these in response to a question from Mr Mohammed Ibn Abass, (NDC-Bimbilla), who wanted to know plans the Ministry has to provide the Bimbilla Hospital with an ambulance. The Deputy Minister said the Bimbilla hospital has "been earmarked in the programme to receive one ambulance soon."

Mr Owusu-Agyei, responding to another question, said the second phase of the Sefwi-Wiawso District hospital has been planned for completion with funding from ORET, a Dutch Funding Agency. He said currently, preparatory design was being done on the project but the Ministry could not determine when "the ORET approval will be given since this is entirely dependent on the Dutch agency." In answer to another question on steps being taken to ensure the completion of four-unit nurses' quarters at Asankrangua, in the Amenfi West Constituency, the Deputy Minster said the project would be captured again in the Ministry's budget for 2007.

He said budgetary provision for the completion of work was made in the 2006 budget, however, funds approved in "the capital investment vote was insufficient to settle the outstanding claims for work done and for the completion of the project."

Mr Ernest Debrah, Minister of Food and Agriculture, who was also in the House to answer questions, said the Afife Irrigation farmlands and the lagoon in the Volta Region were at the same level making it difficult to have natural drainage of excess water into the lagoon. "To stop this backflow of water, a retaining wall, a sluice gate and a pump were incorporated into the design. The pump assists in increasing the rate of drainage of excess water from the farming area into the lagoon side of the sluice gate, unfortunately, the pump has broken down," the Minister said.

He was responding to a question on step s being taken to stop the flooding of the Afife Irrigation farmlands in the wake of recent rains that has affected the dam and the farmers. Mr Debrah said the Afife irrigation scheme was one of the nine schemes being rehabilitated.