Lack of accommodation hinders posting of Fire, Ambulance service personnel to Bosomtwe district
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Ambulance Service are said to have refused postings to the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region due to lack of accommodation.
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Accommodation remains the major challenge in the district as many workers, including more than 50 staff of the district assembly, travel from Kumasi and other surrounding areas to work at Kuntanase, the district capital.
Daily Graphic sources at the Bosomtwe District Assembly indicated that three months after the National Ambulance Service requested for accommodation for nine of their personnel to the district, the assembly was yet to grant the request, which forms part of the conditions before an ambulance was released.
Fire Service
The assembly is also grappling with finding accommodation for personnel of the GNFS who are to be stationed there. As a result of this challenge, operations and activities at the district’s Fire and Ambulance stations have been stalled and the entire district is in danger.
DCE
The District Chief Executive for Bosomtwe, Madam Veronica Antwi-Adjei, confirmed the story but said the assembly had been working hard to address the situation in the district so that it could benefit from the two services.
She indicated that because of inadequate accommodation for workers in the district, majority of the assembly staff travelled from places such as Kumasi, Bekwai and Ejisu, and this led to lateness to work.
According to her, some of the staff members reported to work as late as 11 a.m. and left at about 4 p.m. because of the long distances they had to travel to and from work.
She, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and people in neighbouring communities such as Toanfom, Onwi, Pramso, Jachie and Piase to assist the assembly to provide accommodation for the workers.
High rent
Some landlords are unwilling to give their rooms for rent, so the few workers in the area pay high rent, ranging from GH¢50.00 to GH¢80 for a single room while two-bedroom apartments cost between GH¢150 and GH¢200, MAdam Antwi Adjei said.