Parliament QuestionFire Service Head arrangement is temporary - Okaija
Minister assures public of police protection
Parliament QuestionFire Service Head arrangement is temporary - Okaija
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 May '99
Nii Okaija Adamafio, Minister of the Interior on Wednesday told Parliament that ideally, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) should be headed by a professional fireman or woman.
He said the existing situation, where a Brigadier from the Ghana Armed Forces is the current head, is temporary and meant to help streamline the internal re-organisation of the Service.
Nii Okaija, who was answering Parliamentary questions explained that the appointing authorities in filling the position of the Chief Executive of the Service, took managerial competence as the first consideration, saying that the capability of the Brigadier was not in doubt.
Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, NPP-Afigya Sekyere West wanted to know from the Minister whether he agrees that to maintain professionalism and technical competence within the GNFS it is preferable that the position of Chief Fire Officer is reserved for serving officers and professional firemen and women.
Asked when the temporary arrangement would end, the Minister said this would happen when the Ministry was satisfied that the internal re-organisation in the Service had been brought up to the desired conclusion.
On the establishment of the Fire Service Council, Nii Okaija said the body was inaugurated on March 19, this year.
He was asked whether he was aware that the inability to constitute the Council had been a source of frustration to serving personnel of the Service.
He said no allegation of frustration had come to his notice, but if there was any, it might have abated with the inauguration of the Council.
Reacting to a questioner, who asked whether he was aware that the absence of the Council had brought a lot of inconvenience to the firemen, Nii Okaija stated that he was not aware of any such inconvenience, adding that he had worked relentlessly with the Chief Fire Officer to ensure that everything was well with the Service.
Nii Okaija explained that even without the Council, appointment and promotions within the Service had been dutifully carried out.
Asked what was there to hide for which reason there was no publicity on the inauguration of the Council, he replied that the event was substantially inaugurated.
Nii Okaija told the House that the sector Ministry had earnestly pursued the procurement of new vehicles for the Service.
However, fire tenders are so expensive that it had not been possible for the national budget to purchase a large fleet of tenders.
"For instance, one fire tender costs 500 million cedis and at this cost, we have programmed to purchase four tenders from government sources this year", he added.
Nii Okaija explained that a more reasonable option had been to source international funding to acquire adequate fire tenders.
He said this had not been easy, adding "but we have remained quite relentless in the pursuit of that objective and we are hopeful of a breakthrough in the very near future".
It was suggested that it should be made mandatory for real estate developers to provide fire stations at housing estates.
The Minister responded that such a policy should be encouraged not only to provide fire stations but also fire outposts and police stations.
" I will bring the suggestion to the attention of the Council for consideration", he said.
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Minister assures public of police protection
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 May '99
Nii Okaija Adamafio, Minister of the Interior on Wednesday assured Ghanaians that the Police would do everything possible to protect them from unwarranted attacks and threats to their lives and property.
Answering questions in Parliament on the spate of murders in the Accra Metropolis in recent times, Nii Okaija said the Ministry has put in place effective measures to ensure the protection of residents.
Ms Theresa Ameley Tagoe, NPP-Ablekuma South, expressed concern about the alarming rate at which "gruesome murders" have been committed in her constituency in the past three months, especially against females.
For example, she said within a period of one week, two women were murdered in her constituency and, therefore, hoped the Ministry would provide the Police with the necessary logistics to enable them to go about their duties well so as to allay the fears of residents in the constituency.
Dr Kwabena Adjei, the Majority Leader, and Mr Yaw Barimah, NPP-Koforidua, shared the concerns expressed by their colleague, and said they hoped in view of the sophisticated nature of crimes these days, the Police would be well equipped to enable them perform creditably.
Nii Okaija denied knowledge of any problem hindering the implementation of the constitutional provision that allows a Ghanaian to acquire the citizenship of any other country in addition to his Ghanaian citizenship.
He was responding to a question that stood in the name of Mr Kwadwo-Baah-Wiredu, NPP-Asante Akim North, and asked by Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, the Minority Chief Whip.
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