Monday, July 26, 2010

China Strikes Again: New Tappita Hospital Triples ‘Independence’ Gifts To Liberia

07/25/2010 - Nat Bayjay

Source: FrontPage Africa


THIRD TIME CHARM: This US$10 million modern hospital dedicated over the weekend in the Lower Nimba County town of Tappita added to the People’s Republic of China’s Independence Day gifts following earlier dedications of first the modern University of Liberia’s Fendell Campus in Careysburg outside Monrovia and another modern agricultural project in the Center for Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) outside Bong County’s provincial capital of Gbarnga-all done in the space of four days and two days to the celebration of the Independence Day.
Tappita, Nimba County-

Liberia’s 163rd Independence could go down the country’s historical archive as probably the best in recent years in terms of the number of tangible independence day gifts bolstered by a triple package of landmark projects from the Chinese government.

Covering an area of 22,540 square meters with a total floor space of 7,200 square meters, the newly dedicated hospital is expected to serve as a major relief not only for the county but also for the country’s entire southeastern region whose counties of Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Grand Kru, Maryland and Sinoe have no referral hospital.

A US$10 million modern hospital dedicated over the weekend in the Lower Nimba County town of Tappita added to the People’s Republic of China’s Independence Day gifts following earlier dedications of first the modern University of Liberia’s Fendell Campus in Careysburg outside Monrovia and another modern agricultural project in the Center for Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) outside Bong County’s provincial capital of Gbarnga-all done in the space of four days and two days to the celebration of the Independence Day.

Characterized by jubilations and cheers as thousands of Nimbaians from all parts of the county converged on Tappita coupled with high ranking government officials led by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her foreign diplomats spearheaded by Chinese Ambassador Zhou Yuxiao, the newly constructed gigantic Tappita Referral Hospital was finally turned over by the Chinese Government to the Liberian Government in what Chinese Ambassador said was his country’s gift to the people of Liberia as they celebrate their Independence Day.

Even the late arrival of the President and her entourage two hours and 45 minutes behind the scheduled 4p.m,,the dedicatory ceremony was still an elaborate and colorful one at a well attended event whose significance will come to realization in about a month’s time when the hospital will officially be opened for services.

Covering an area of 22,540 square meters with a total floor space of 7,200 square meters, the newly dedicated hospital is expected to serve as a major relief not only for the county but also for the country’s entire southeastern region whose counties of Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Grand Kru, Maryland and Sinoe have no referral hospital.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED

“Though my country is not a rich country, but it is good for poor country to help one another so that we can all one day be developed”.

Chinese Ambassador Zhou Yuxiao
The beautiful hospital which greets visitors to Tappita for its ideal location at the entrance of the town consists of an outpatient department (OPD) building, an in-patient building that contains 100 sickbeds, an imaging and radiology building and an administrative building which are all linked together by corridors in addition to its auxiliary facilities that include six apartments for doctors, a 500KVA twin-generator house, a water pumping house, sewerage and waste treatment workshops, maintenance rooms, mortuary among others.

Equipped with 171 different kinds of modern medical equipments including the country’s first and only CT scanner and a color ultrasound system, an ambulance including others, the construction of the modern health facilities took only 16 months to be completed with construction work that began in March of last year.

No Strings Attached

Presenting the keys to the hospital, Chinese Ambassador Yuxiao was quick to clarify that his country’s immense contributions to war-ravaged Liberia has no other political implications or hidden agenda.

“Though my country is not a rich country, but it is good for poor country to help one another so that we can all one day be developed”, he said as he gave a special statement during the evening ceremony.

Since the inception of the post-war government in 2006, China’s aid to the post-war country has been described by many observers as ‘incredibly amazing’, particularly as it overtook diplomatic ties from rival Taiwan, prompting room for political suspicions and a possible ‘under-sleeve’ ambition.

‘Fulfilled Promise’
A smiling and grateful President Sirleaf wasted no time in using the event to boast of fulfilling her 2005 campaign promise to citizens of the county who, according to her, she promised to revamp their hospital.

“Now instead of revamping the hospital, we have constructed a brand new one”, Sirleaf stated amidst cheers.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health in whose electoral constituency the hospital is coincidentally built, Representative Edwin P. Gaye, described the hospital as a ‘great gift’ for the people of Nimba County.

While expressing appreciation for the modern health facilities, the City Major of Tappita recommended that the old hospital structure be used for the training of medical staffs.

Residents’ Applaud New Hospital

A lot of residents and citizens of the county told FrontPageAfrica of their excitement for the construction of the hospital in that part of the country.

John D. Wehyee, a resident of Tappita said: “This hospital will be a great impact here. It will make a big difference because we carry patients to Ganta and sometimes even as far as Gbarnga for treatment for serious medical problems”.

A commercial motorcyclist in Tappita, Andy Lahm, said: “This is good for us here because sometimes we the pehn-pehn riders most of the time have to carry sick persons on the bike to places like Saclepea and Ganta. Now, people can now come from those places to come here for treatment because we now have a good hospital. Even people from Grand Gedeh will be coming to this hospital”.

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Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

Everyone is a genius

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein

Drawing the line in Liberia

Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah



Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause

They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.

If Liberia must move forward ...

If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah

What do I think should be done?

The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Solving problems in the absence of war talks

As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truthBernard Gbayee Goah

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