President John Dramani Mahama has called on the public to be patient with officers of the Ghana National Fire Service, stating that they are doing their best despite working under difficult conditions.
Empathizing with the Chief Fire Officer, President Mahama said he understands that when there’s a fire outbreak and officers arrive late, people get angry. However, he explained that the officers lack adequate fire tenders to respond quickly.
Speaking during a donation made into the Mahama Care initiative by eleven security agencies, he revealed that the last set of fire tenders was purchased nearly nine to ten years ago during the late President Mills’ administration.
President Mahama further acknowledged that the entire security sector works under tough conditions.
“Fire service needs fire equipment urgently and let me say, I empathise with my sister here. When the fire service arrives late, people get angry but they just don’t have the fire tenders,” the president stated after security agencies under the Interior Ministry presented GHS1.02 to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares).
He assured them that his government will invest GH¢1 billion to retool the security services with equipment and logistics to enhance their operations.
“The last set of fire tenders were bought almost 9 years, 10 years ago from [late] Prof. Mills’ time. There’s not been a retooling [and] most of those tenders are broken down so I urge the public to be patient with our fire officers, they are working under difficult circumstances.
“And so one of the priorities will be to get some new fire tenders for you,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, President Mahama revealed that his administration has set aside GH¢1 billion to upgrade the equipment and resources of the security services under the Ministry of Interior, aimed at improving their efficiency and ability to respond to emergencies.
He also commended the Ghana Police Service for their efforts in fighting armed robbery, saying such work should not be done “with bare hands.”
According to him, since armed robbers are heavily armed, the police need to be equally equipped with armored vehicles to fight crime effectively.
He also promised to provide the Immigration and Prisons Services with new vehicles, noting that many of their current vehicles are over ten years old.
