Firemen levied GHC20 for chief fire officer’s visit

The Brong-Ahafo Regional Command of the Ghana Fire Service is levying all its personnel across the region an amount of GH¢20 each to cater for the Chief Fire Officer, Albert Brown Gaisie’s five-day official visit to the region.

This move has angered officers in the region. Speaking to DAILY GUIDE on condition of anonymity, some of them are not happy about the decision but are afraid to voice it out because of possible victimization.

The official visit, DAILY GUIDE learnt, is to enable the chief fire officer familiarize himself with fire issues in the region since assuming office as the National Fire Service boss.

According to the deputy regional fire commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Samuel Sarpong Mensah, the visit would also take Mr Gaisie to some districts in the region and would inspect the uncompleted office complex of the regional command, which has been abandoned for more than 10 years now.

Mr. Sarpong Mensah admitted that the command was taking GH¢20 from officers, but said it was a collective decision.

He emphasized, “It is not meant to pay for administrative cost of the visit such as transportation, hotel bills and feeding, but to appreciate the visit by having a dinner together with him to grace the occasion.” According to him, it is not being imposed on the officers as it had been agreed upon by all.

He denied allegation by some officers that it would be deducted at source if any officer did not voluntarily make the contribution. Asked if the Service’s internally generated fund (IGF) could not be used for the proposed dinner as well as the completion of the regional office comples, he replied in the negative saying, “The IGF is a peanut and only used for purchasing things like ‘A’ 4 sheets and others.”

As at yesterday when DAILY GUIDE spoke to the deputy regional commander, the paper learnt that the CFO was already in the region and that the officers had not heard any reversal of the decision by the command.