The Minister of Information Mustapha Hamid has disclosed that automobile company Mercedes has recommended that Ghana will be better of converting the substandard ambulances it imported under the NDC into 30-seater mini buses.
“…By the letter the Germans wrote us….it doesn’t look like we can get them to become real functioning ambulances,” he added.
He was speaking on Joy News file Saturday September 16, 2017.
The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu Friday revealed the Ministry of Health discovered that state funds were used to illegally pay for the 30 ambulances that were rejected by the National Ambulance Service (NAS).
The 30 ambulances, which formed part of 200 ambulances that were to be procured by the Ministry of Health to boost the healthcare delivery under a contract, cost 2.4 million Euros and were rejected because they did not meet specifications. A unit cost 79,000 euros.
Mr. Agyemang Manu therefore served notice that he was referring the matter to the national security and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for further investigations in order to retrieve the said amount and establish who made the payments and to whom it was made.
Meanwhile, the immediate past Minister of Health Alex Segbefia, said the ambulances were not secured under his tenure. According to him, no contract relating to the procurement of ambulances was signed when he was Minister at the time.
