The Paramount Chief of Kpassa in the Nkwanta-North District of the Oti Region, Ubor Tassan Nanja Konja VI, has appealed to the government to complete stalled educational and health infrastructure projects in the area.
He particularly called for urgent steps to complete the Damanko Community Senior High School (SHS) project, which was initiated 13 years ago, as well as the Kpassa Agenda 111 District Hospital project.
The Damanko Community SHS project comprises a four-storey 24-unit classroom block, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities, a science block, staff accommodation, a library and other supporting facilities.
The school was among 123 E-block projects initiated in 2013 to improve access to secondary education in the country.
Similarly, the 60-bed Kpassa Agenda 111 District Hospital project commenced in August 2022 and was scheduled for completion and commissioning in January 2024.
The facility was expected to serve more than 120,000 residents of the district and neighbouring communities. However, work on the projects has stalled.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic during the celebration of the Yam Festival (Linujil) at Kpassa last Saturday, Ubor Konja VI expressed concern that despite the huge sums of money invested in the two critical projects, they had remained uncompleted, leaving residents struggling to access quality healthcare and education.
He said completing the projects would improve access to secondary education in the area and address the situation where residents had to travel long distances to access healthcare services.
Nursing Training College
Ubor Konja VI also appealed to the government to consider establishing a Nursing and Midwifery Training College in the Nkwanta-North District to address the limited opportunities available to young people in the area to pursue nursing education.
“Healthcare delivery in our district would receive an unprecedented boost if we have a nursing training facility to train our youth locally and retain skilled health professionals within the Oti Region to serve our rural clinics and health posts,” he said.
He added that establishing the institution in the district would create opportunities for hundreds of young people who were unable to pursue further education after senior high school because of limited access to health training institutions.
Access to electricity
Ubor Konja VI further appealed to the government to take steps to improve electricity supply to communities across the district to enhance the living conditions of residents.
He said the unreliable power supply to communities in the district had adversely affected businesses and the general well-being of the people.
The chief explained that frequent power fluctuations and outages were hampering the operations of local artisans, grain millers, welders and cold-store operators, thereby limiting their economic potential.
“We urgently plead for a substantial improvement in electricity supply and the extension of rural electrification across the Nkwanta-North District.
Reliable energy is the lifeblood of modern economic activity, small-scale industrialisation, youth entrepreneurship and night-time security,” he said.
Land acquisition
Commenting on the proposed establishment of a nursing and midwifery training institution in the area, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, John Kwabena Oti Bless, said its realisation would require collaboration among all stakeholders.
He, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and people of Nkwanta-North to make land available to facilitate the establishment of the institution.
"For a project of a monumental nature such as a nursing training school to be built by the government, we need land that is big enough for future expansion.
Therefore, I appeal to the chief and his sub-chiefs to help us get land for that project," he said.
