Learn from police experience - Woyongo tells GNFS

The Interior Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, has asked the management of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to learn from its sister institution, the Ghana Police Service, and ensure transparency and fairness in its recruitment.

Mr Woyongo, who made the call when he inaugurated the GNFS Council in Accra last Wednesday, hinted that recruitment into  the GNFS would begin soon.

He urged the GNFS management to base the recruitment process on competence when the time came for It.

A recruitment scam that affected scores of young people hit the Ghana Police Service last month, following which the Police Administration has set up a Special Investigations Taskforce, headed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed A. Alhassan, to unravel those behind the scam.

Council members

The 11-member GNFS Council is chaired by Mr Kenneth Dzirasah, a former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament.

Other members are Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, the Chief Fire Officer; Mr Richard Forjoe and Mr Emmanuel T. Markwei, both nominees of the President; Mr Emmanuel Nii Klemesu Ashong from the Ministry of Roads and Highways and Mr Fredrick Otibi Addae from the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing. 

The rest are Mrs Helen Ziwu from the Attorney-General’s Department; Mr Frank Raji from the Ministry of the Interior; Mr Rudolph Kuuzegh from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Edward Kweku Ashon and Mr Martin Aduko Atiah, both from the GNFS. 

Mr Woyongo said the ministry was holding talks with the Ministry of Finance for authorisation to begin the recruitment exercise.

He said the exercise was also necessary for new fire engines to be put to efficient use, as the current number of staff of the service was inadequate.

In November last year the GNFS received 80 additional fire engines to enhance its operational capacity to fight fires and tackle other disasters.

Charge

Touching on fire outbreaks, the minister expressed worry over the increasing high-profile fires that had killed a number of people and destroyed property and goods worth millions of cedis.

Between January 1 and 7 this year alone, 160 fire outbreaks were recorded nationwide by the GNFS, notable among them being the inferno at the Central Medical Stores in Tema.

He, therefore, urged members of the council to work towards reducing fire outbreaks across the country, adding that given the expertise of the members, the council should come up with guidelines for the public to prevent fire outbreaks in their homes and at their workplaces.

Mr Woyongo also advised the council to review the conditions of service of fire officers to motivate them and also ensure that discipline became the hallmark of the service.

In an acceptance speech on behalf of the council members, Mr Dzirasah said the country was currently making progress in terms of infrastructural development, though the population was increasing.

There were new challenges confronting the GNFS in relation to high-rise buildings and the increasing population, and suggested that fire prevention was the best option.

He promised that the council would ensure that measures were outlined to reduce fire outbreaks and thanked the government for the confidence reposed in them.