Abandoned Ambulances Only Fit For Carrying Corpse – National Ambulance Service

The Ghana National Ambulance Service says the abandoned ambulances brought in to the country by the Mahama administration is only good for carrying corpses.

They say the specification of those buses do not fit the world standard specification for an ambulance.

Speaking on Okay fm’s Ade Akye Abia programme, Head of the Public Affairs unit of the Ghana National Ambulance Service, Mr. Simon Kewura says there is no way those imported vehicles can be improvised for an ambulance.

Though we gave government the specifications we needed, they should have gone with a technical person from the ambulance service for the procurement of the ambulances.

A recent check by Silver Star shows that those vehicles can be use for “Trotro” but the way it was made it is good for carrying dead bodies, he indicated.

Details emerging about how the contract was awarded by the erstwhile Mahama administration for the procurement of some 30 ambulances estimated at €2.4 million, indicates the contract landed in the hands of one of the NDC’s foot-soldiers.

The sole-sourcing contract was said to have been awarded during the time of Alban S.K. Bagbin as Minister of Health, to an aide of former National Security Advisor, Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (Rtd), called Richard Dzakpa, in 2010.

Dzakpa, who is believed to have no expertise in the procurement of sensitive health equipment, was said to have purchased the Benz ambulances from Dubai instead of Germany, where the vehicles in question are manufactured.

However, the ambulances have been found not to be fit for the purpose for which they were acquired, although Ghana paid a whopping €2.4 million for the transaction.

The immediate-past Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, has however distanced himself from the scandal.

According to him, “No contract was signed under his tenure. People keep forgetting that I was the minister for 18 months and there were seven ministers over an eight-year period so no contract or no financial arrangement was done under my tenure as minister.

“I have no problem with any investigative body investigating what has occurred with regards to any matter under the Ministry of Health either before or during the tenure under which I am, and if I have to assist, I am willing to assist anyone who is part of the investigative team or the investigative body, so that is not a major concern to me,” he posited.