Brown Gaisie
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) headquarters has empanelled a three-man committee to probe a report that personnel in the Brong Ahafo Regional Command were levied an amount of GHC20 towards the official visit of the Chief Fire Officer.
The committee is chaired by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer Wuni Azomyann and supported by Director of Accounts, Maxwell Owusu Brempong and DOIII Prince Billy Anaglate, Deputy Director, Public Relations.
The terms of reference of the committee whose report must be ready by Friday 6th November 2015 are to ascertain the validity of the allegation as contained in the newspaper report, invite if possible the complainant to substantiate the complain about the so-called imposition of levy and whether the regional commander sought the authorization of the fire headquarters before issuing the directive on the levy if he indeed do so.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Fire Officer, Assistant Chief Officer Samuel Offei Adade surprised at the turn of events, told DAILY GUIDE from his Sunyani base that what has happened was not at all intended.
“Being the Chief Fire Officer’s visit to the region since assuming the leadership of the GNFS, we decided to honour him with a dinner. When we contacted the Welfare Unit we were told that there was no money. Not less than 15 of us decided among ourselves to ask everybody to contribute an amount of GHC20 towards the dinner. The Chief Fire Officer did not know about it at this stage. We were going to invite people to come to the dinner whose T&T we would have paid” he said.
“When we met at a funeral in Wenchi I told the CFO about what we intended to do and he immediately ordered me to stop it forthwith which I did, this being an order” he added.
Speaking to the DAILY GUIDE, the CFO who is currently on a countrywide tour commissioning new fire stations and facilities such as IT centres, said such official visits including hotel accommodation and miscellaneous expenses are covered by a budgetary allocation from the Accounts Department. In the Brong Ahafo Regional capital, he held a durbar with personnel but as he puts, it none of them raised the issue of any unnecessary levy imposed on them. “It is not a practice in the GNFS to levy personnel to honour the CFO” he said.
By A.R. Gomda