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President Akufo-Addo cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the facility at the 37 Military hospital in Accra
President Akufo-Addo cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the facility at the 37 Military hospital in Accra

Joseph Siaw Agyapong Soldiers’ Block inaugurated at 37 Hospital

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has inaugurated a 300-bed accommodation block at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

Known as the Joseph Siaw Agyapong Young Soldiers’ Block, the facility will accommodate young soldiers who will undertake their basic training in medical care at the military hospital.

Inaugurating the project, President Akufo-Addo said although the number of soldiers undergoing training had been increasing, there had not been a corresponding increase in accommodation for the trainees to be on the hospital premises to learn their trade.

In order to address the challenge, the then Director General of Health Services of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier General Ralph Ametepe, commenced the project in 2016 with internally generated funds but it could not be completed.

The project stalled in 2018 because it ran out of funds but the successive directors at the hospital continued the project, albeit at a slow pace, until it was revived in 2021 by the current Chief of the Defence Staff.

Commitment to welfare

President Akufo-Addo explained that the Chief of the Defence Staff, in 2021, appealed to the Jospong Group of Companies to assist with the completion of the block, and the conglomerate agreed to do it as a corporate social responsibility at no cost to the GAF.

The President, therefore, commended Jospong Group of Companies for the support in ensuring that the 300-bed accommodation was completed.

He assured the officers, men and women of the Armed Forces of the government’s commitment to their welfare and well-being and noted that since his assumption of office in 2017, his government had rolled out a number of measures to help deal with some of the challenges facing the Armed Forces.

Some of the measures, the President mentioned, included phases one and two of the Barracks Regeneration Project and the Military Housing Projects, which he launched in 2017 and 2021.

The front view of the 300-bed facility for young soldiers at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. Pictures: SAMUEL TEI ADANO

President Akufo-Addo said the government was also striving to complete stalled Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and Ministry of Defence projects commenced in 2016 to add to the accommodation stock.

Those, together with ongoing accommodation projects, the President explained, would provide about 3,000 accommodation units for the GAF soon, and it would be the largest provision of accommodation units for the forces.

“We will continue to stay true to the pledges we made in our 2016 and 2020 manifestoes, which brought in and retained my party, the New Patriotic Party, and I, into office.

“Government will continue to construct much-needed accommodation infrastructure to enable the 37 Military Hospital and the Ghana Armed Forces to perform their role as required by the Ghanaian people,” President Akufo-Addo said.

Assistance

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jospong Group of Companies, Joseph Siaw Agyapong, said the group believed in assisting organisations whose work impacted on the greater majority of society and it was for that reason it supported the military, adding that the contribution of the military to the socio-economic development could not be overemphasised.

He said in the last five years, the Jospong Group had had closer collaboration which had culminated in the training of the top executive of the management staff and drivers of the company by the Ghana Armed Forces.

Collaboration

The Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, said the Ghana Armed Forces was collaborating with the company in the area of fleet management, vehicle maintenance and construction, and used the opportunity to ask for such assistance.

He commended the Jospong Group for the support and the past and present commanders of the 37 Military Hospital for their initiative and determination to ensure that the troops were properly accommodated.

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