Hospital relocation refuted

 

By KONOPA KANA

THE CONTROVERSY surrounding the Seventh Day Advertise (SDA) run Sopas Hospital in Enga province has surfaced once again, this time with allegation that the relocation of the hospital was politically motivated.
Chairman of the hospital, Sopas Tambon claimed that the hospital was a church run institution and the administration of Governor Peter Ipatas should not intervene but let the church run the hospital.
He made this comments after Prime Minister Peter O’Neill committed K286 million to relocate the hospital after 13 years of closure because of shortage of funding and tribal fight.
 
Mr Tambon said that the Enga provincial government should not interfere with this church run hospital and the church agency should take charge when the hospital was re-opened.
He said that this was not the case because the provincial government through the office of the governor had given directives to relocate the hospital to a nearby village called Irailya, which happen to be where the Governor Ipatas comes from.
“At the beginning of this year the O’Neill/Dion government has allocated funding to build a new hospital while Sopas hospital still exists. Sopas Hospital is a world class hospital because it also accommodates a Nursing college and the hospital itself is worth millions of kina,” Mr Tambon said.
 
He also brushed aside the rumors that the hospital has been bought by the provincial government, labeling it as misleading and should not have been spread around to confuse the people of Enga and the country.
“This kind of false rumors is destroying the good reputation of a well known hospital that many people know and trust. But for Sopas itself, it is the best hospital and the people of Enga and Papua New Guinea can testify to that,” he said.
Mr Tambon further stated that hospital belonged to the SDA church and nobody including political leaders should claim that it belong to them.
“As chairman and principal landowners, my people have given this land to the church and that commitment and agreement will stand as it is.
“I appeal to the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, Health Minister Michael Malabag and Minister for Works Francis Awesa to take note of this very crucial issue and re-open Sopas Hospital,” Mr Tombon said.
He said that hospital belong to God and not the provincial government, political leaders or their cronies.