Prof. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah
The Ghana National Ambulance Service (NAS) has debunked rumours suggesting that the service has shipped one of the ambulances under the ‘One Constituency One Ambulance’ initiative to Dubai for sale.
In a video post sighted on Facebook under the account of Yayra Koku, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) activist, two voices were heard speaking in Twi, a local dialect, insinuating that the ambulance funded by the World Bank to the Ministry of Health and dedicated to the Radiology Specialist Unit has been put up for sale in Dubai.
“An ambulance belonging to the Ghana Government with a Coat of Arms has been sold here in Dubai. You can see that the ambulance was funded by the World Bank but our leaders have brought it here for sale,” the voices in the video alleged.
Mr. Koku, in a separate post, indicated that page 37 of the Auditors General Report on COVID-19 Transactions on Ambulances not delivered reveals that “the Ministry entered into a contract signed on December 15, 2021 for the supply of 26 Toyota Hiace Deluxe Ambulances valued at US$4,049,460.12 out of which US$607,419.02 was paid vide PV No. IPF 22-007 of September 2, 2022 to be delivered by January 15, 2022”.
He added that “the ambulances remained undelivered as of November 28, 2022. We paid US$607,419.02 and someone sold the ambulance in Dubai. Everything is possible under this government”.
In a rebuttal statement to his claims on Facebook, Mcvoo Edmond, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist, rubbished the claims made by Yayra Koku intended to score cheap political points.
“Yayra Koku and his NDC fanatics, in a hurry to score cheap political points, have started sharing videos of Toyota ambulances with the Ghana Coat of Arms inscribed on them. This is on social media. They claim that these ambulances, which are showcased in the viral video, have been sent out of Ghana to be sold in Dubai,” he stressed.
Edmond also pointed out that in the Auditor-General’s Report, Ghana is still awaiting the delivery of 26 ambulances valued at $4 million, ordered to support COVID-19 management.
“The ambulances seen in the viral video are actually part of the 26 ambulances that the Ministry of Health is procuring from Dubai through the World Bank. The supplier of these ambulances are yet to ship them to Ghana. It’s disheartening that people tend to believe every single piece of misinformation put out there by these people,” he added.
NAS Debunks Claims
In a statement dated Monday, May 29, 2023, and signed by the Deputy Director, Public Relations, National Ambulance Service, Mr. Simmons Yussif Kewura stated that the vehicle in the video is part of 26 newly acquired vehicles the service procured from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The service said the vehicle is currently in the yard of the manufacturing vehicle company, which is preparing it for shipment to Ghana. It is part of 26 Toyota Hiace vehicles the service has purchased.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke