Eyewitnesses raise funds to fuel ambulances that transport the injured to hospitals.
A viral video of an accident scene on the Accra-Cape Coast Highways has raised questions about emergency response in Ghana.
The video depicts a group of eyewitnesses desperately soliciting funds to purchase fuel for an ambulance to transport victims from the accident scene to a hospital.
Some of the victims were seen sitting in the back of the ambulance, which was blaring its siren and flashing its emergency lights.
Kwame Asare Obeng, alias A Plus, a musician and activist who shared the video on his Facebook page, sought answers from the National Ambulance Service about what caused the incident.
"They had to contribute to the fuel used to transport the injured to the hospital." We need answers from the Ghana National Ambulance Service!" He bemoaned.
The Ghanaian Parliament established a bipartisan committee in July this year to investigate the death of a pregnant woman who died in transit from Takoradi to Accra due to the alleged negligence of the National Ambulance Service crew.
According to reports, officials from the National Ambulance Service demanded payment before transporting the woman to the hospital.
According to the deceased's husband, who testified before the committee, the money was intended to cover the cost of fuel for transporting his wife.
read also: Over 70 'Black Market' dealers arrested in Accra as the cedi falls in value.
As part of the government's efforts to contain the fall of the Ghana cedi, officials from the Bank of Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, arrested 76 individuals and entities involved in the illegal buying and selling of foreign exchange.
These "black market" participants were apprehended in Accra's Central Business District, specifically Rawlings Park, Makola, and Tudu, according to citinewsroom.
They are expected to face charges.
Adjoa Konadu Torto, Head of the Bank of Ghana's Forex Exchange Bureau, told Citi News, "This special operation was part of the Bank's overall strategy to sanitize the foreign exchange market." Other measures being implemented include: increased public sensitization and media engagements to educate the general public on forex rules and regulations, including the need to avoid the black market; and enforcement of compliance from licensed foreign exchange bureaux, particularly with the taking of customer identification (Ghana Card) and the issuance of electronic receipts for every forex transaction."
She also took the opportunity to warn Ghanaians that they would face prosecution if they engaged in 'black market' trading.
"The Bank warns the general public against engaging in foreign exchange transactions without a license." Members of the general public who support the activities of black-market operators are equally guilty in the eyes of the law. "The general public must always trade with a licensed foreign exchange (forex) bureau of the Bank of Ghana," she stated.
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