In pursuit of the mandate of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), a 5 year strategic plan, aimed at modernizing the GNFS, has been developed to provide the framework for decision making and operations of the Service in that regard.
The plan, which was derived from the achievements of the GNFS’s Medium-Term Strategic Business Plan (2008-2012) will serve as the blueprint for the development of the service over the next five years (2019 – 2023).
Launching the plan in Accra on Wednesday May 29, 2019, the Minister for the Interior, Mr. Ambrose Dery entreated the management and personnel of the service to lend their full support towards the achievement of the set goals in the plan.
He bemoaned the phenomenon where useful plans have been left on shelves for lack of the will to implement them.
To this end, he assured the service of government’s commitment to assist it in any way necessary to achieve the targets as set in the plans so as to ensure a safer country.
The Minister used the occasion to appeal to the international community, philanthropists and all well-meaning Ghanaians to assist the Ghana National Fire Service to attain a world class status.
Mr. Dery further reiterate President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to providing the service with needed logistics to enable them deliver on their mandate
He cited the establishment of letters of credits for the purchase of two hydraulic platforms and commencement of the procurement processes for the acquisition of command vehicles and personal protective equipment as an indication of the commitment.
“Government under the leadership of His Excellency nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is very much committed to providing the needed logistics for the service and will leave no stone unturned in that regard” he said.
On his part, the Chief Fire Officer Mr. Edwim Ekow Blankson, noted that, technological advancement and the use of sophisticated modern equipment has necessitated the need for advanced professional knowledge and techniques in firefighting and thus applauded the service for building the capacity of personnel in that regard.
“We are expecting a team of specialist from the United States of America in June this year to train our men on Hazardous Materials Response, Tactical Firefighting, Fire Investigation, as well as Technical Fire Report Writing. We have also signed MoU’s with the University of Cape Coast and the University of Energy and Natural Resources to support the Ghana National Fire Service run other professional programmes for the Service” he said.
He further disclosed that, the service was about to build a specialized hospital at Tema in the Greater Accra region to address peculiar health challenges of fire personnel.
The Chief Fire Officer, on behalf of the fire service management, promised to deliver to the best of their ability.
The plan, estimated to cost Nine Hundred and Eighty-Eight Million, Five Hundred and Sixty-One thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-Three cedis (GHC988,561,443.00), seeks to address seven thematic areas of the Service, namely; Human Resource Development, Physical Infrastructure Development, Logistics and Equipment, Financial Resource Mobilization and Management. Application and Use of ICT, Emergency Situations and Response and Institutional Management.
Public Affairs & Communication Unit|Accra|29-05-2019
