By Shadrach Aziz Kamara
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has on Tuesday 7thSeptember, made payment to twenty –eight (28) residents affected by the proposed Lumley Government Hospital site, West of Freetown totaling 420 million Leones.
Each affected residents were given fifteen million Leones ((Le 15,000,000), at apaymentceremony at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation’s Conference Hall in Freetown.
Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Austin Demby, pleaded tothe residents of the proposed site of the Lumley Government Hospital to relocate for the benefit of the general public, adding that the people of that community are in need of a dialysis treatment center and therefore the Japanese Government had asked them to relocate the residents for the construction of the hospital.
He said that they are doing this for the people of Sierra Leone especially for the people of Lumley and beyond and encouraged them that the monies is not enough for the replacement of their properties, stating that it can help them to start looking for another place else where whilst thanking the residents for their resilience and sacrifices for the good of all.
Minister Demby added that Lumley is a growing community predicting that in the next ten years if a hospital facility is not constructed to meet the demand of the population it would be catastrophic for residents of that community especially lactating mothers, children among others to access medical and health facilities in that part of the country .
The Health Minister praised the residents for accepting the relocation cash in good faith, adding that it would be enough for them to recover their expenses of their properties saying the community need such ultra-modern tertiary children’s hospital in that part of the country in order to serve the demand of the growing population.
The Health Minister further believed that the construction of the children’s hospital will not only serve the Lumley community and its environs’ but the entire country as a whole.
One of the resident Esther Sia Musa, said that she welcomed the idea and described the proposed site of the hospital as a mile-stone, a development for the people of the Lumley community and its surroundings, thus encouraging her fellow residents to accept the money saying “she appreciated the Government for giving her such amount.’’
Another resident Alhaji Mansaray described the moment as historic, but said that the time giving to them by the government to evacuate the premises was untimely, and short whilst also commenting that the cash given to them by the Health Ministry was not enough.
He added that he has been living in the community for over 20 years but said the money that has been given to hi will help him get an apartment in the main time.
