NDC demands release of ambulances

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged government to immediately release about 307 ambulances it procured for distribution to public hospitals in the country.

Some of ambulances have been parked at the forecourt of the State House in Accra since September, last year.

In a statement signed by the NDC’s National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi and issued in Accra on Tuesday, the party claimed that:

“These ambulances, some of which were imported into the country some four months ago, have been lying idle at the forecourt of the State House despite public outcry that they be released.”

It said in spite of genuine calls for the ambulances to be distributed to complement the country’s challenged National Ambulance Service and emergency health system, the vehicles were still parked at the State House “amidst a litany of lies that crumble under scrutiny almost every day”.

It would be recalled, that following public outcry over the continuous “detention” of the ambulances last year, the Minister for Special Development Initiatives, Madam Hawa Koomson announced that the government was in the process of training drivers, paramedics and other staff to operate the ambulances, hence the undue delay in distributing the ambulances.

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has also explained that the ambulances required digitisation.

But, the NDC said in the statement that “it was not surprised by these never-ending excuses which only typify the deception that Ghanaians were being subjected to”.

“The claim that two weeks is required to label 307 ambulances, some of which have been in the country since September last year is preposterous to say the least,” the statement added.

The statement accused government of “a deliberate and calculated attempt to conceal the real intention of government on this matter; which is to delay the distribution of the ambulances until few months to the 2020 general elections for cheap electoral gain”.

The statement stated that “the NDC joins the media and well-meaning Ghanaians to demand the immediate release of the ambulances to help address the health needs of Ghanaians, with whose taxes these ambulances were procured”.