Regional News of Thursday, 24 May 2007

Source: GNA

Twifo Praso to get a community health nursing training school

Twifo Praso, May 24, GNA- The Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur on Wednesday announced that a community health nursing training school would be established in Twifo Praso in October this year. He said structures of the old Twifo Praso Secondary school, which has been upgraded into a model school would be used to start the school. Nana Arthur made the announcement at Twifo Praso to start his two-day tour of the Twifo-Heman-Lower-Denkyira to interact with the people and inspect development projects.

He, in this regard, appealed to the district assembly to make appropriate accommodation available to cater for the teachers who would be posted to the school.

The Minister further announced that the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankesse, Upper Denkyira and the Twifo-Heman-Lower-Denkyira districts have been selected in the region to be provided with electricity in July this year through a Chinese facility. He could however not give the amount involved, but said that the package would include the provision of street lights in the beneficiary communities.

Nana Arthur said the government would remain committed in the provision of social amenities to the rural areas and that an amount of 12 billion cedis has been made available for the expansion of the Twifo Praso market and lorry park, adding that the tarring of 3.5 kilometres of the Twifo Praso town roads is on a five-billion cedi contract.

Nana Arthur told the staff of the assembly and heads of departments of the district that, it was the aim of his administration among others, to ensure unity, engage stakeholders in decision making as well as resuscitate at least one of the collapsed industries in the region.

He, in this regard, tasked them to be time conscious and take their work seriously to enhance the development of the area and the region as a whole.

The Minister however, expressed concern about the way people were politicizing all government policies and programmes and urged the assembly members to join in the education of the public on the redenomination of the cedi, instead of playing politics with it. "Politics is not everything, let us not allow it to destroy us, let us respect the views and positions of others and endeavour to live in peace and unity."

The Minister later inaugurated a 400-million cedi Community Health Planning and Service (CHIPS) centre and a nurse's quarter for the people of Ayaase and Bepobeng.

He described the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as a major government policy and urged those who have not yet registered with the scheme to do so, stressing that it was the only way they could take care of their health needs.

Nana Arthur urged the scheme manager to always collaborate with the District Chief Executive to ensure the successful implementation of the programme.

Mr. Samuel Agyeibie-Kessie District Chief Executive, for his part said under the National Youth Employment Programme, 32 youth were being trained as health aids and that some of them would be posted to the centre after their training.

He said, with the introduction of the capitation grant and school feeding programme, school enrolment and performance have improved considerably, stressing that no school recorded zero per cent in the BECE last year.

Nana Sasraku Ayiwa II, chief of Ayaase, thanked the Minister for the visit and appealed to him to help improve the road network in the area and provide them with electricity, a police station, a market, potable water and the services of a Metro bus.