Construction of a 21-bed Hospice, to care for the terminally ill, has come to a standstill due to the blockage of the entrance to the building by a private developer.
For the past six months, no construction work had been done on the building, which has reached an advanced level, since vehicles carrying materials such as iron rods, cement, sand and stones cannot have access to the place.
The hospice is the brainchild of the Founder of the Mathew 25 House, an HIV and AIDS care centre in Koforidua, Monsignor Bobby Benson, a catholic priest who founded the centre to care for People Living with HIV, orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) whose parents had died of the disease.
For the past 15 years, the Mathew 25 House has been providing, shelter, medication, food and clothing to people living with HIV and AIDS as well as for over 95 OVCs who have gone through schooling from the kindergarten through tertiary education.
The Hospice is a facility that consists of a clinic, living hostels, kitchen, pantry, dining, laundry, administration offices to provide a serene environment for the terminally ill and is the first of its kind in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.
The project started in 2014, when Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur, wife of former Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur cut the sod for commencement of work and was funded by friends and other donors through fundraising activities by Monsignor Benson.
In an interview with the Monsignor Benson, he said all went well until mid-year when he realised a Developer had encroached on their land thereby blocking the access road to the facility.
He said due to the rainy season they stopped work, only to return in October and found the access road completely blocked to the facility, he said several calls and reports to the Akuapem North Municipal assembly and the Town and Country Planning had fallen on death ears.
Monsignor Benson indicated that the facility was an extension of his charity work of the Mathew 25 House and has no political colour or whatsoever and made a passionate appeal to the powers that be to ensure that the access road was clearly earmarked to enable him to complete the project as scheduled.
He pointed that as at, the time of going to press, donor funds meant for the completion of the project was in the bank and bed sets for the facility, all idling.