Weeds and Reptiles Take Over Abandoned Kasoa Polyclinic

By Raissa Sambou

Weeds and reptiles have taken over the abandoned 80-bed capacity Kasoa Polyclinic at CP, in the Awutu Senya East District of the Central Region.

The facility, which still remains locked despite several appeals by residents for it to be opened, was completed about two years ago.

The constant plea and outcry from the public have fallen on deaf ears as the Polyclinic remains closed, angering residents who are threatening to boycott the 2020 elections if government failed to listen to them.

Residents have been relying on the congested old polyclinic which serves hundreds of patients' everyday with its limited resources for healthcare.

The Ghanaian Times in its July 18 issue reported on how the modern health facility had been abandoned and the effects it had on residents and its environs.

The paper contacted the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry of Health (MoH), Mr Elorm Ametepe, who assured residents that the facility would be made operational as soon as possible, yet the polyclinic remains under lock and key till date.

The Ghanaian Times during a visit to the area on Monday at about 11am, found some traces of human excreta on the compound indicating the facility was also being used as a place of convenience for some people.

Residents are currently not happy about the situation and have reiterated calls to government to, as a matter of urgency, have the facility opened or employ people to weed the compound occasionally as the presence of the reptiles, including snakes, in the abandoned building posed risk to residents and by-passers.

Mr Kofi Ntiful, a 45-year-old widower and father of three residing in the area, bemoaned that government did not prioritise the health of the people of Ghana "that is why we have such a facility, capable of saving lives rotting away because of politics."

We do not believe that it is locked because there is no money to furnish it. Government does not just care about us that is why they have left the place for animals and reptiles to take over."

Mr James Addison, a teacher, told the Ghanaian Times that, "I am of the strong conviction that the facility is still under lock and key because of politics; this is an insult to the people of Kasoa," adding that the welfare of the citizenry must not be politicised, especially when it comes to access to healthcare.

Another resident of CP, who preferred to be named Auntie Araba, said she recently spotted two young men killing a snake on the premises of the facility.

"It was a very huge one. I was very scared when I saw the snake after it was killed and brought out. I have stopped walking around that area since people started complaining of seeing snakes and some rodents moving in and out of the premises of the health facility. If government will not open it, they should, at least, employ people to keep the place tidy always," she said..

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