PThe Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has launched a five-year strategic plan aimed at modernising the service into a world class institution.
The plan is hinged on eight thematic areas including human resource development, physical infrastructure development, retooling with modern equipment and logistics, and welfare of personnel.
Others are financial resource mobilisation and management, application of modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions, prompt and efficient emergency response and good institutional governance and management.
Implementation of the strategic plan, scheduled for 2019 to 2023, is estimated at GH₵988,561,443.
Speaking at the launch in Accra yesterday, Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, said the plan was essential in providing direction and served as the roadmap for effective performance to ensure the GNFS attains its goals and targets.
He commended the management of the Service for conceiving the idea and working to drive the institution towards world class service delivery.
Without a proper plan, the Minister said organisations were prone to failure or would not live to their full potential due to arbitrary decisions by management.
In this regard, he reiterated government’s commitment to assist the GNFS in achieving its set out goals and targets and called on management and officers of the Service to lend their full support towards the realisation of the goals in the plan.
In terms of support, he stated that government has established letters of credit for the purchase of two hydraulic platforms for the GNFS to enhance aerial fire-fighting and rescue operations, while plans were far advanced for the procurement of 2,000 Personal Protective Equipment for the Service.
As well as providing the needed logistics for the Service, Mr Dery said government would ensure that more than 1,000 personnel are recruited to augment existing staff and ensure effective delivery of fire fighting service.
Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Edwin Ekow Blankson, stated that technological advancement and the use of sophisticated modern equipment which have increased fire outbreaks require that the Service builds its professional knowledge and techniques to confront the threat.
To deal with it, he said, the GNFS focused on capacity building and improvement in welfare of personnel with a number of officers participating in programmes in Malta, China and India while others took part in local management and operational fire-fighting courses.
Additionally, a team of specialists from the United States of America (USA), he said, are expected to arrive in the country in June this year to train personnel on hazardous materials response, tactical fire-fighting, fire investigation as well as technical fire report writing, while a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the University of Cape Coast and University of Energy and Natural Resources to support the GNFS run other professional programmes for the Service.
The Service was also in discussions with Malta to establish a Fire Service College in Accra to make Ghana the hub for professional fire and rescue training in the sub-region, CFO Blankson added.
In the area of welfare, he stated that the GNFS was in the process of building a specialised hospital in Tema to address peculiar health challenges of fire personnel.
He said implementation of various aspect of the plan would be supervised by a sub-committee which would ensure that timelines were met and desired targets realised.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS and YUNUSAH ESSANDOH
