Tokardi — Health Service Workers Union (HSWU) in the Western Region is set to construct a GH¢4 million office complex near Twin City Radio at Effia Nkwanta in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis.
The project, including a conference centre, will be executed by BINMIC Construction Ltd within two years.
At the sod cutting ceremony on Wednesday, the Administrator, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Mr Michael Danso, noted the role management played in the realisation of the project, saying "it's very dear to our hearts".
He recalled earlier attempts by the union to build the office at the regional Communicable Diseases Unit (CDU), but management suggested the relocation.
"So we decided to give you a better land, and, a after a search, we settled on this place. We are all excited about this project and hope that it will be expedited for the benefit of all of us," Mr Danso remarked.
Manager, Regional Medical Stores, Mr Kwadwo Okyere Apenteng, who represented the Regional Director of Health Services, expressed excitement about the HSWU project coming on the back of the completion of a conference room at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
He said, "We believe that coming up with a secretariat like this, which includes a conference facility, will definitely inure to the benefit of not only HSWU, but also to the region".
The General Secretary, HSWU, Mr Franklin Owusu Ansah, recalled the history of the group from 1944, and that, presently, the union comprised of all kinds of staff in the health sector with the exception of medical doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
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Mr Ansah said as part of the desire to reach out to members, it decided to construct a secretariat with a conference centre at Effia Nkwanta to serve the members of the Western and Western North regions.
He indicated that when his team was voted into office in December 2022, the leadership crafted a vision to execute a project within four years, and so drew plans for the Effia Nkwanta project in the Western Region.
Despite the challenges of suitable land space, Mr Ansah said the project had become a reality for the benefit of the union, labour solidarity and the health sector.
"Today is a very significant day in the history of the Union. Though we have been a Union for all these years, we operated in rented facilities, but today, with the help of the Regional Director of Health Services, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, we have this piece of land to put up this structure. We want to believe that within 24 months we should be able to complete it," he added.
Mr Ansah with pick axe cutting the sod for the project. Second left, in blue suit (holding a shovel) is Mr Apenteng, who represented the Regional Director of Health Services.
