—US$40,831 million at US$133,000 each and US$54,339 million at US$177,000 each

Health Minister, Kweku Agyeman Manu, Fisheries Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson and others, will in the future have a case to answer over the procurement of the 307 ambulances under the One-Constituency, One-Ambulance programme by the Akufo-Addo government with regards to the actual price.

The Herald’s investigations into the procurement which was to fulfil a 2016 manifesto pledge by the then-opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its presidential Nana Akufo-Addo, reveals Mrs Koomson,quoted different figures as the prices at which she bought the 307 vehicles on behalf of the state, while serving as the Minister for Special Development Initiatives.

In 2019, while serving as Minister for Special Development Initiative, she mentioned that each of the ambulances commissioned on Tuesday, January 28, 2019, by President Nana Akufo-Addo, was procured at US$133,000 working up to US$40,831 million.

Mavis Hawa Koomson, on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, reiterated, “Each of the ambulances costs US$133,000 with two years warranty and full premium insurance being handled by a local company.”

However, the same lady later mentioned that the Akufo-Addo government spent US$177,000 to procure each of the 307 ambulances under the One-Constituency, One-Ambulance programme, amounting to a total of US$54,339 million.

Hawa Koomson, gave the new price when she appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, on Thursday, February 18, 2021 for her vetting as the Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.

She explained that the ambulances were Mercedes Benz brand and that all the six contractors who won the bid received dealer authorization permits from the Public Procurement Authority in compliance with the country’s procurement laws but failed to mention the name of the supplier as she had done a year earlier when she quoted the US$40,831 million

The One-Constituency, One-Ambulance procurement processes, she went on, involved production, distribution and insurance cover on the ambulances.

Interestingly, ahead of the purchase of the 307 ambulances, the Akufo-Addo government, had abandoned the agreement for the same Mercedes ambulances signed under the Mahama administration with Richard Jakpa and his partners; Big Seas, with President Akufo-Addo, leading the chorus in labelling them inferior; a case of giving a dog a bad name and hanging it.

Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the current minority leader in parliament, and businessman, Richard Jakpa, have been accused of willfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of 2.37 million Euros through the purchase of 30 out of the 200 ambulances.

The Jakpa’s ambulances, have been left to rust, while the Akufo-Addo government found the US$54,339 million to pay another supplier to fulfil the NPP’s manifesto promise.

It has also been revealed in court that Big Seas, had at one point requested for the ambulances to be shipped back to Dubai and a return of Ghana’s 2.37 million Euros, but the Akufo-Addo government, declined the request, perhaps consumed by its desire to do its own procurement.

Mr Jakpa, is currently on criminal trial together with Minority Leader for causing financial loss to the state to the tune of 2.37 million Euros over the 30 out of the 200 ambulances that he and his partners succeeded in bringing to Ghana at the price of 79,000 Euros.

Mrs Koomson, who is currently the Minister of Fisheries, had on the occasion of the commissioning, revealed that the US$133,000, she paid for each of the ambulances, including all procurement processes and insurance, but details of the suppliers remain a mystery to date.

Central to this case is the Akufo-Addo government’s decision to reject the ambulances procured by the previous Mahama administration and instead pursue its own procurement initiative, aligning with its 2016 manifesto pledge.

The Akufo-Addo government rejected Jakpa’s 200 ambulances, claiming they were faulty. Despite this, the government proceeded to purchase 307 new ambulances, distributing them to 275 constituencies as part of its “1-Constituency-1-Ambulance” initiative, managed by the National Ambulance Service.

The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), in its 2016 manifesto, had promised to strengthen the National Ambulance Service and chose not to inherit the ambulances procured by the Mahama administration through Richard Jakpa and his Dubai-based partners, Big Seas.

Irrespective of the cost of Jakpa’s vehicles to the Ghanaian taxpayer, the Akufo-Addo government, shoved them aside and started its own procurement process with Tina Mensah travelling the world in search of the NPP’s ambulances.

Jakpa, who is now the third accused in the ongoing ambulance case trial, disclosed to the Accra High Court where he is being prosecuted that he was told by the former Minister for Health, Kweku Agyeman Manu, that their (NPP) businessmen are going to order their own version of ambulances so that they can make money.

With this in mind, Jakpa said the former Minister said, the NDC businessmen who started the initiative should go and clear their mess.

President Akufo-Addo, while commissioning the 307 new, state-of-the-art ambulances to the National Ambulance Service, in fulfilment of his 2016 campaign pledge, rubbished the procurement that happened under his predecessor.

According to President Akufo-Addo, the 307 ambulances are “fitted with advanced life support equipment and tracking devices, to be distributed to 275 constituencies, i.e., 1-Constituency-1-Ambulance, to be managed by the National Ambulance Service, and the remainder of thirty-two (32) ambulances to the headquarters of the Service.”

Presenting the ambulances at a ceremony at the Independence Square, the President noted that, when he took office in January 2017, the National Ambulance Service had 130 stations, 10 regional control rooms across the country, and only 55 ‘semi-functioning’ ambulances.

“In December 2015, two hundred (200) ambulances were supposedly purchased by the Mahama government, out of which only thirty (30) arrived in the country. As though this was not enough, the thirty (30) were declared “not fit for purpose” because they had cardinal defects and did not come with any medical equipment. This was completely unacceptable, and my government was determined to rectify this unhappy state of affairs,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo continued, “It is appropriate that the National Ambulance Service, established in 2004 under the New Patriotic Party-led government of that outstanding Ghanaian statesman, the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, is re-equipped, re-tooled and revamped under another NPP-led government, this time of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”

The presentation of the 307 ambulances, the President said, means that “as against the scenario whereby one (1) ambulance served approximately five hundred and twenty-four thousand (524,000) people at the end of December 2016, today, we have a much-improved ratio of one ambulance serving approximately eighty-four thousand (84,000) people.”

Additionally, the President revealed that 145 new ambulance stations will be created, bringing the total to 275 stations, ensuring that the country has a 1-Constituency-1-Ambulance Station situation.

“We promised in the 2016 NPP Manifesto to strengthen the National Ambulance Service, and we are doing just that,” he added.

Towards addressing the challenges confronting the Ambulance Service, President Akufo-Addo noted that, firstly, the Ministry of Finance has provided financial clearance for the National Ambulance Service to recruit and train 1,477 emergency medical technicians.

Out of this number, he said that 577 have already been recruited, with the process for recruiting the remaining 900 underway.

Secondly, the President revealed that the National Ambulance Service Bill, which identifies funding sources for the National Ambulance Service, is currently before the Cabinet and will soon be forwarded to Parliament for consideration and enactment after Cabinet approval.

Thirdly, President Akufo-Addo, stated that the government has provided a digitised state-of-the-art ambulance dispatch management system, integrated with the national digital property addressing system, whereby all calls to the ambulance service will be routed through a computer system, which will automatically generate the digital address location of the caller to enable the control centre to determine straightaway the nearest ambulance to dispatch.

“It will also allow the ambulance to determine easily the nearest healthcare facility suitable for the emergency. This system will also allow the ambulance, when dispatched, to navigate, without difficulty, using the dispatch system in the ambulance, straight to the location of the caller,” he said.

The President noted also that the dispatch management system will provide interconnectivity among the various ambulance stations and the dispatch centres, as well as the dispatch centres and the receiving health facilities, adding that such a system will enhance the response time of the ambulances, thereby improving patient outcomes.

President Akufo-Addo, told the gathering, the government has succeeded in getting a unique emergency number for all providers of emergency services in the country, with the Police Service, Fire Service, and the National Ambulance Service, all in the past having different emergency numbers.

“I am happy to announce that, thankfully, we have merged all the emergency numbers to one number, which is 112. For any form of emergency, either Police Service, Fire Service, or Ambulance Service, the number to dial on all mobile networks is 112,” he said.

The President appealed to Ghanaians to ensure that this improvement in the provision of emergency services is not abused, adding that “we are told that 90% of calls made to the providers of emergency services are usually prank calls. This is not right, as it only endangers the lives of Ghanaians in need.”

President Akufo-Addo assured that the Government will ensure that the needed infrastructure is provided to the Paramedic and Emergency Care Training School, at Nkenkaasu, to help ensure that it serves its purpose of training paramedics in the country and West Africa, and also serves as a refresher course centre for emergency care training for doctors, nurses, and other paramedics in the country and West Africa.

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