Finance ministry releases GH¢80,000 to settle rent arrears of firefighters
The Ministry of Finance has released more than GH¢80,000 to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to settle residential rent arrears for about 52 firefighters in the Volta Region.
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The Chief Communications Officer of the GNFS, Mr Ellis Roberson Okoe, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that full payment of the arrears would be made immediately.
He also said 10 per cent of the net salaries of firemen was deducted as rent but the amount was expected to be topped up by the government.
“The service pays the rent of its personnel from government subvention and, therefore, if subventions are delayed, then the payment of rent will delay as well,” he added.
The release of the funds followed threats by three landlords to evict about 52 firefighters in Ho.
The rent for the firemen and their families has not been paid for the past two years and they owe the three landlords more than GH¢80,000.
Ultimatum and frustration
The desperate firefighters claimed their landlords had given them an ultimatum to pay their two years’ outstanding rent advance by the end of September or face eviction.
They were at a loss as to their next line of action considering the fact that as security and regimental officers, they were expected to be treated like other security agencies.
The development, they believed, was a threat to national security, because it made mobilisation of fighters difficult in case of emergencies.
While some of them were contemplating seeking transfer to other places, others were planning to access loans to accommodate their families. The firefighters, therefore, appealed to the government, as a matter of urgency, to come to their aid to avert any unfortunate situation.
Two of the landlords, Mr Victor Gborglah and Mr Sylvester Kpogo, said the 13 tenant firefighters owed GH¢34,560, while four of them owed GH¢6,240.
Minister’s assurance
In an interaction with officials of the service in Accra on August 26, 2014, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Mark Woyongo, said the ministry would collaborate with two other ministries to resolve the persistent residential accommodation challenge confronting the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
He also said the ministry would engage the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing to ensure the allocation of some affordable houses to the service.
To complement efforts by the central government to address the accommodation challenges of the GNFS, Mr Woyongo proposed that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development should ensure that all assemblies that required fire stations provided residential accommodation for the fire officers who would be posted to their areas.
He described the housing deficit facing the GNFS as huge, for which reason the central government alone could not address it in the short term.
