Jekiti Gov't Clinic locked up; Patients, officials stranded

Health officials and patients who showed up at the Jekiti Government Clinic in the Eastern Region to seek medical attention have been left stranded as the facility is locked up.

The Clinic is said to be owing utility bills, property rate and sanitary fees, something that prompted the owner of the building housing the facility to lock it up 4:00 am Thursday.

Both patients, mostly pregnant women, and health officials have since Thursday morning not been able to gain access to the clinic as the owner of the building is insisting on taking back his building.

The landlord of the five-bedroom apartment being used for the clinic, Abusuapanin Kofi Ansah Darko explained the building was acquired for the clinic in 1972, noting it was leased for just five years, yet the clinic has been at the place for 44 years now.

He told host of Ghana Dadwen, Bright Asempa on Onua FM that authorities of the clinic have over the years failed to keep the building in good shape, stating that it has been his responsibility all these years.

According to him, the painting of the building, tidying up the place has always been done by him without recourse to the clinic's funds, adding the worse of it all is the fact that the clinic has refused to settle its GHC2,000-debt in electricity bills since 2000.

Abusuapanin Darko claimed he invited the District Chief Executive for Asuogyaman to a meeting at which they gave the clinic up to April to relocate considering the dilapidated nature of the building.

Consequent to that, he said the DCE ordered the authorities to relocate the clinic for the owners to take back their building but that is yet to be obeyed hence, his resolve to lock it up.

However, when contacted, the DCE denied knowledge of the development.

Attempts to get the District Health Director to respond to the claims of the owners of the building have not yielded results.