Alex King Nartey, Dr. Frank Amoakohene
THE ASHANTI Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, is in the news for bad reasons after he verbally exchanged words with officials of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) over their performance during last Friday’s fire outbreak at Blue Light, a market place at Adum in Kumasi.
In a recorded video, which has since gone viral on social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, the minister, who was overly angry and panting for breath, was heard yelling at the firefighters.
This unguided utterances by the minister, has incurred the wrath of the GNFS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Alex King Nartey, who in response, said Dr. Amoakohene, clearly, wanted to take advantage of the unfortunate situation to be seen by the traders as a hero who cared about them.
Minister’s Unprovoked Attacks
The verbal fight started when the Ashanti Regional Minister, particularly, expressed extreme anger over a stationary fire tender at the fire scene, which he claimed was without water, angrily asking “if there is no water in the tender, what is it doing here?”
He then continued by ordering for the immediate removal of the fire tender from the scene, saying, “Move the tender away if there is no water in it,” adding that he is the Regional Minister, so if the firemen have any challenge they should let him know for solution.
At that juncture, a voice, possibly from a firefighter, was heard saying that there was water in the fire tender. But the response seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as the angry minister continued to verbally lash out at the firefighters again, in the full glare of the public.
He said, “Why don’t you tell me the truth? You are not telling me the truth. If there is water in it why are you standing there idle? As if I’m a small boy that you can lie to. I don’t want explanations. I have been asking for the last one hour and you are not telling me the truth.”
The Ashanti Regional Minister therefore reiterated his earlier order by saying, “Take the car away so we will know there is no fire tender here,” adding that the firemen were strangely behaving as if they had nothing to lose even in the face of the dangerous fire outbreak.
Fire PRO Punches Back
Meanwhile, the GNFS Public Relations Officer, Alex King Nartey, in a swift response, expressed disappointment in the minister’s weird behaviour in public, saying that Dr. Amoakohene was aware of the lack of logistics challenges facing the firefighters, so he was surprised about his behaviour.
“Action is not by shouting or creating a public spectacle. This is a minister who is well aware of our challenges as a service,” he said, adding that, “Even on March 6, 2025, when our offices engaged him during a cleanup exercise, he assured us that he would help to fix the fire tender at our metro station. That promise is yet to be fulfilled.”
Mr. Nartey said the minister’s comments at that crucial time only demoralised the firemen, who were then risking their lives to battle the blaze despite logistical challenges, stressing that firefighting requires adequate resources and not verbal reprimands as the minister did.
According to media reports, the GNFS PRO recounted that “we didn’t have this kind of scene at Kantamanto, yet we were able to extinguish the fire,” adding that “shouting doesn’t not quench fires.”
Minister Eats Humble Pie
In a related development, Dr. Amoakohene, who seemed to have realised his mistake, has, in a Facebook post, commended the GNFS for their hard work in quenching the blaze.
“We thank the fire service and the security forces and the entire trading community for their hard work and collaboration. Together, we will recover. Together, we will rebuild,” the Ashanti Regional Minister wrote on his Facebook page.
This was after he had visited the fire scene with the Legal Counsel to President John Dramani Mahama, Lawyer Marietta Brew.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi