–As County Legislative Caucus, Officials Frown on Exclusion
IPNEWS-Monrovia: On Wednesday, December 28, 2022 as President George Weah dedicated and commissioned the newly-constructed state-of-the-art Emirates Hospital in Bopolu City in Gbarpolu County, the Liberian made a disclosure that his decision back in the early 2000s to quit European football and head to the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) has resulted to the construction the modern health facility in the county.
President Weah said the project selection, groundbreaking, and construction of the facility can all be traced back to what he terms a selfless decision he made many years ago when he was at the peak of his soccer career.
President George Weah speaks at the dedicatory and inauguration ceremonies of the Emirates Hospital in Bopolu, Gbarpolu County
It can be recalled President Weah departed Liberia in 1987 to begin his professional football career firstly in Cameroon to play semi-pro for Tonnerre Klara Club of Yaounde, where he stayed only six months as his football prowess caught the attention of former Cameroonian national team coach at the time Claude Le Roy who then decided to recommend the young George Weah to his friend Arsene Wenger of AS Monaco in France to begin his full professional. After four years plus at AS Monaco, Weah moved to PSG and later to Italy to play for AC Milan. He had a six-month loan spell at Chelsea in London, and later signed a deal with Manchester City all of the United Kingdom, he returned to AC Milan but his playing chances were limited due to one German striker Oliver Bierhoff taking his striker position. Weah then chose to return to France to play for Olympique Marseille as his career weaned. Noticing that he was no longer at the peak of his game, like other former professional players before him, Weah opted to move to the Gulf nation of United Arabs Emirates (UAE) to end his career with Al Jazeera football club in the early 2000s.
The official UAE delegation at the dedicatory ceremonies headed by Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates
“I made a decision to leave Europe and play for a relatively unknown team in the UAE, called AL JAZEERA. That move, you must know, was one based on the budding friendship I shared at the time with the then Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who this year became President of the United Arab Emirates,’ he said.
Weah added: “It was also based on the love that was shown to me by the Emirati citizens on the pitch. Leaving Europe at a time when my services were still being sought by many of the world’s top clubs was no small feat. But sometimes in life, it is important to put people and friendship above material gain. I am glad that I did that at that time, and I am also glad to see that that act of friendship is today yielding dividends for my country.”
Dr. Aysha Sultan Aldhaheri, Executive Director of the Military Health Services of the UAE Army speaks at the ceremonies
According to the Liberian Leader, the construction and commissioning of the Emirates Hospital will not only help the people of Gbarpolu County to have access to quality health care but it will enable the surrounding counties (Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Bong), as well as some parts of Lower Lofa, to benefit from better health care.
He added: “It may even encourage some citizens of Sierra Leone, who are close to the Liberian border in Kongba District, to seek medical care here at this hospital.” “I am delighted to be here today to witness the Official Dedication of the Emirates Hospital here in Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County,” he said.
President Weah at the dedication and commissioning of the state-of-the-art Emirates Hospital in Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, praised the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his effort to improve the health sector in Liberia.
“I, therefore, want to express, in this public manner, my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, for this profound act of humanitarian generosity to the People of Liberia,” the Liberian Leader said Wednesday in Gbarpolu County.
At the event in Gbarpolu County, the Western part of Liberia, a high-level delegation was present to represent the government of UAE.
The delegation was led by Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, and included Dr. Aysha Sultan Aldhaheri, Executive Director of the Military Health Services of the UAE Army, among others.
The newly-built Emirates Hospital in Gbarpolu County is a state-of-the-art medical facility that covers more than 52,000 (fifty-two thousand) square feet and is almost entirely powered by solar energy.
The hospital contains a 100-bed capacity for inpatients, several operating theatres, a modern laboratory, an intensive care unit (ICU), various specialized departments, and many more facilities that set it apart from other hospitals in the country.
Emirates Hospital is a Milestones for Western Liberia’s Gbarpolu County Bomi County and Grand Cape Mount Counties in the Western part of Liberia have poor healthcare facilities.
President Weah speaking further stressed that the hospital is a great help for not only Gbarpolu County but the entire Western region.
Arrival of President George Weah at the dedicatory ceremonies of the Emirates Hospital in Bopolu, Gbarpolu County
President Weah furthers: “The hospital marks an important milestone for the people of this region. It is a well-known fact that, historically, Gbarpolu County has been one of the Counties with limited access to health care.”
He said: “The inauguration of the Emirates Hospital today is a further manifestation of my Government’s commitment to improving the quality of health services in Liberia by expanding health coverage to our rural population.”
The newly-constructed and dedicated Emirate state-of-the-art Hospital in Bopolu, Gbarpolu County
The construction of Emirates Hospital in Gbarpolu County brings to a total of three entirely new hospitals that have been built and opened during the five years of President Weah’s administration.
Gbandeya Hospital in Rivercess County, the 14 Military Hospital in Margibi County and now Emirates Hospital, Gbarpolu are the three hospitals hospital built during Weah’s administration.
It can be recalled President Weah last year during his county tour visited Gbarpolu County and after several interactions with the locals, he chose the county as the rightful location for the construction of the hospital.
“When I stopped here more than a year ago during my County Tour, it was easy to spot the historical deficit that Gbarpolu County has suffered in infrastructure and healthcare. It was therefore never a difficult decision to choose Gbarpolu as the location for this hospital complex,” he said.
The Chief Jallah Lone Health Center in Bopolu, Gbarpolu County constructed by the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration was the main health facility of the county prior to the construction and dedication of the 100-bed Emirate Hospital
The President also thanked the Management and Staff of Intbox Global Building Contracting LLC, Dubai, UAE, the construction company that built this facility only 14 months from groundbreaking, despite the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, and its sub-contractor, Horizon Construction Company of Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile, many Liberians speaking via a talk show on Joy FM 101.5 cautioned the government of President Weah not to allow the newly dedicated Emirates Hospital in Gbarpolu County to be another ‘white elephant’ but must ensure that adequate medical drugs are provided to serve the people of Western Liberia.
At the same time, Gbarpolu County Legislative Caucus, speaking through Senator Daniel Naatehn frowned on the Government of Liberia for leaving out leaders and officials of the county during the dedicatory ceremony. He said it was hard to understand why would the Ministry of Internal Affairs as well as the Ministry of Health go ahead to plan the dedication of the new health facility without inviting the Legislative Caucus and other county officials to form part of the dedication ceremony.
“You built a hospital for the people of Gbarpolu and other surrounding counties as well as neighboring Sierra Leone, but you chose to ignore the beneficiaries who are supposed to take ownership. That decision was wrong and I think it was political in nature, which does not represent the health sector which is non-political,” Senator Naatehn lamented.
