The National Ambulance Service has explained that none of its staff was involved in the use of a government ambulance for the purchase and transportation of bags of cement as seen in a  video that has gone viral on social media.

The video shows a seemingly new ambulance with registration number GV 537-20 being loaded with bags of cement by some young men.

The video was recorded by a concerned citizen who wishes to remain anonymous according to Citi News’ Central Regional Correspondent, Calvis Tetteh.

The development sparked a huge debate on social media, with many criticizing the government for failing to ensure that they are being used appropriately for what they were intended for.

The Ambulance Service consequently despatched some officers to look into the matter.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the National Ambulance Service, Simon Yusif Kawula, who spoke in an interview on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, the ambulance was wrongly used by a mechanic who was tasked to repair a fault on it.

“The investigation we did revealed that this particular ambulance was being used by the mechanics of the suppliers. It is an ambulance under the 1 Constituency 1 Ambulance, and it is stationed at Sege. This ambulance developed a gearbox problem, so it was sent to the suppliers, so they also gave it to their mechanics at Mamprobi called Nana Ofosu Gearbox enterprise. After they fixed the problem and were doing a test drive, they drove to the Mallam – Cape Coast highway, and that was when they went to purchase cement. It was not the staff of the Ambulance Service who were using the ambulance at that time, but rather the mechanics,” he explained.

Mr. Kawula said an official complaint will be lodged with the police over the matter for further investigations.

He said the incident occurred in March 2021, but the Ambulance Service’s attention was drawn to the development only when the video went viral on social media.

Later in a statement issued on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, the Ambulance Service confirmed that the incident happened specifically on March 26, 2021.

It also says that the Ambulance “is still in the custody of Service Ghana Autogroup Ltd., and therefore not being used by the paramedics of the National Ambulance Service. It is thus not part of the National Ambulance Service Fleet”, the statement said.

The Manager of the depot where the bags of cement were bought says he feels bad about the incident.