The British government has awarded an $18.5 million contract for the supply of medical equipment and technical support to some Ghanaian health facilities.
Under the contract, Cteq, a British small and medium-scale enterprise (SME), would provide the Wa Hospital with 160 beds and the Nsawkaw and Tepa hospitals with 60 beds each under the first stage.
The second stage involves the provision of 100 beds to the Madina Hospital whiles the Konongo, Salaga and Twifo Praso hospitals are to receive 60 beds each.
Under the third stage, the Kumasi and Afari MOD hospitals would be provided with 250 and 500 beds respectively.
Cteq specialises in procurement and sourcing solutions in the healthcare sector.
Brief
The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Mr Boris Johnson, announced this at a press briefing in Accra yesterday. Present were the Chief Executive Officer of Cteg, Mr Ayman Hamid, and the UK Trade Envoy to Ghana, Mr Afriyie Adam. The rest were the ministers of Health and Trade and Industry, Messrs Agyemang Manu and Alan Kyerematen respectively.
Mr Johnson expressed the hope that the gesture would help strenghten the relationship between Ghana and Britain.
Pledge
On further support to the country in the wake of Britain leaving the European Union, “BREXIT,” Mr Johnson pledged that the UK would continue to be a strong voice for Ghana, emphasising that BREXIT meant more freedom to relate with countries like Ghana in allowing locally made products, such as the bamboo bicycle, onto the UK market tariff free. “We are leaving the European Union but not Europe. Trade and partnership with Europe and the rest of the world will continue.”
For his part, Mr Manu said with the vision of the government to expand health care in the country, such cooperation with Ghana’s partners was important.
He, therefore, said the country looked forward to having more of such engagements with the British government.
The CEO of Cteq, Mr Hamid, expressed delight at being part of transferring expertise to Ghanaians to improve the health sector.
The UK Trade Envoy to Ghana also explained that, the deal “bodes well for future cooperation between the two countries.”
Interaction
The Foreign Secretary had earlier interacted with some Ghanaian SMEs that are receiving support from the UK government under its Enhancing Growth in New Enterprises (ENGINE) project being implemented by TechnoServe.
The SMEs exhibited some of their products that had benefited from the technical and funding support from the UK government.
The Marketing Manager of Wienco (Ghana) Ltd, Mr Dominic Duku, told the Daily Graphic, that the support had ensured the production of quality local rice for the Ghanaian market.
Another exhibitor, Kwabena Danso, who manufactures bamboo bicycles and loud speakers, said the support of a £3,000 seed money and business development services through the project had helped increase his production from 100 units a year to about 300. “We keep on increasing, and quality has been improving,” he added.
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