Distribution of 307 Ambulances: 'Funfair' unnecessary-Joseph Yamin

A Former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister and influential member of the opposition National Democratic Congres (NDC), Joseph Yamin has stated that the ceremony to outdoor the 307 ambulances at the Black Stars Square by the President is needless.
According to him, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has nothing to show and therefore jubilate over trivial achievements.
He made the comments on Atinka TV’s Morning Agenda, a segment on Ghana Nie.
“There is one thing associated with the NPP Government. They have little or no achievement and so they are like a dying force that will kick at anything. They take advantage of the little things that under normal circumstance you will cross over it. If President Akufo Addo is to commission hospitals he has built and commission ambulance, which one will he prioritise spending time on or making it public?” He quizzed.
Joseph Yamin also asked, “Why should there be a funfair to commission ambulances after being in government for three years, when the ambulances are only an end to a means and not the means to an end?”
He also stated that the ambulance are meaningless if hospitals under construction have been abandoned in the bush by the government to the mercies of the sun and the rain.
“If I were Akufo Addo, this will be the last thing I would have done because it is exposing the NPP government. The ambulances are only coming to add up to the hospitals that have been abandoned by the NPP government,” he said.
Joseph Yamin therefore called on Akufo Addo to ensure completion of the abandoned hospitals so that the ambulances can complement them.
After the back and forth brouhaha over the distribution of ambulances, there is a ceremony to commission and distribute the ambulances today, Tuesday, January 28^th 2020.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Affairs at the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Mohammed Awal underscored the need to celebrate such a successful feat chalked by the NPP Government.
According to him, 275 out of the 307 will be distributed to all the constituencies while the rest will be distributed amongst some major health facilities within the country to facilitate quality health care delivery.
“We had only 55 ambulances, and President Akufo Addo during the campaign did not mention ‘one constituency, one ambulances’, our promise was ‘one constituency, one million dollars’ which will be used for infrastructure for poverty eradication. When you look at the quality of life, we noticed that health is very important, so we also identified the need to get enough ambulances across the country,” he explained further.
Mohammed Awal said the money used to purchase the ambulances was the ones the government took from the one million dollars for each constituency.
Aside the ambulances, he stated that most of the constituencies had a lot of developmental projects going on, so that the smaller villages will also have basic infrastructure.
“There were a lot of questions on when they will be distributed and yes some came before the others arrived. Most Ghanaians thought because we brought it for emergency we had to share it immediately, but we decided not to share some and leave others to avoid the feeling of neglect or favoritism. Some also needed tracking devices and training of paramedics. Now they have all arrived and set for distribution and therefore there should be a funfair to unveil it for people to know,” he added.
Mohammed Awal also stated that,”As we have entered into a social contract with Ghanaians, we have to let them know about everything we do, just like what we did for the NaBCo trainees. It was through funfair they got to know of our intentions and so if we have done it, we have to let them know about it through funfair.”
He noted that the ambulances is not only coming to support health delivery, saying that it is also going to create employment for about 1000 persons.
“The drivers alone are 307, and the paramedics that will be employed will be over 600 because every ambulance will have about two of them. At the commissioning, persons who will work in it will also be commissioned for their families, and Ghanaians as a whole to know that when the NPP Government came, it created jobs for them,” he added.
“The ceremony is very important. It is important to show it for all Ghanaians to see and know where to go when they need it for an emergency,” he said.
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