Claim: Social media users have claimed that a Ghana-branded ambulance that went missing in Ghana is up for sale in Dubai.
Verdict: Verdict: False! Both the SK Motors SFZO in Dubai and the Ambulance Service in Ghana have refuted the claim. The Service explains that the ambulance in the viral video is one of the 26 WHO-sponsored vehicles expected to be exported from Dubai to Ghana.
Full Text
Social media was literally set ablaze following a viral video circulated on several platforms showing an ambulance in Dubai branded in the Ghana colours said to belong to the Government of Ghana.
In the video, a man is seen standing beside the Ghana-branded ambulance, indicating that the ambulance is up for sale.
The video has been published by several users on Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook, it has been published here and here. It has also been published on Twitter here, here, and here. It amassed over 100,000 views.
Due to the extensive engagement, the video has received, DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim.
Verification
First, DUBAWA sought to find out if indeed the viral video was taken in Dubai. We used Google Maps and found out that the company where the ambulance was found was within the premises of SK Motors SFZO. The company is a car dealer that deals in the exportation of vehicles in Dubai. The photo found on google maps was dated 2020, but it had the company’s name, as claimed in the viral video.
Ambulance Service Reaction
Whilst following up on this viral video, DUBAWA found a May 29, 2023, statement issued by the Ghana Ambulance Service in reaction to the viral video. The statement explained that the ambulance in the video is part of the 26 new vehicles the government was procuring from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In their response, the service suggested that SK Motors also manufactured the said ambulance. Thus, it is not true that the ambulance is there for sale.
Is SK Motors SFZO a manufacturing company?
To discover the truth, DUBAWA decided to dig further to find out if it is accurate that SK Motors SFZO is a manufacturing company, as hinted by the Ambulance Service and whether orders have been placed for 26 new vehicles by the government.
Our checks indicate that the company may not be a manufacturing company. According to the About section of the company on its website, the company described itself as a leading exporter of vehicles, not a manufacturing company, as the National Ambulance Service would have the public believe.
Further checks by DUBAWA on page 37 of the Report on the Audit of the Government of Ghana COVID-19 Expenditure for the period between March 2022 to June 2022 revealed that the Ministry of Health (MOH) agreed to buy 26 Toyota Hiace Deluxe ambulances for US$4,049,460.12 in December 2021.
The report on expenditures for COVID-19 between March 2020 to June 2022 indicated that a total of US$607,419.02 out of US$4,049,460.12 was paid for the ambulances to be delivered by January 15, 2022. According to details of the report, as of November 28, 2022, no ambulance had been delivered to Ghana.
In the report, the Chief Director explained that the ambulance supplier applied for an extension of the delivery date to meet some technical specifications. The next date to dispatch the ambulances to Ghana was March 23, 2023. However, when writing this report, DUBAWA’s checks at the Ghana Ambulance Service revealed that none of the Toyota Hiace Deluxe ambulances were in Ghana.
Is the ambulance spotted in Dubai that of the alleged missing one at Pru East?
No. There is no evidence to substantiate the claim made by a Facebook user. The claim comes from a report published by myjoyonline.com on May 26, 2023, indicating that the ambulance in Pru East had gone missing.
In 2019, the Government of Ghana imported 267 ambulances under the “One District One Ambulance Initiative.” The ambulances were expected to be distributed to all constituencies, including the Pru East constituency. Given this, our first research was to find out the vehicle brand of ambulances the government imported into the country in 2019.
According to the Auditor General’s report in 2020 on page 5, the government procured 307 Mercedes-Benz ambulances for US$ 54.3 million and distributed them to 275 constituencies.
After carefully analysing the viral video, DUBAWA discovered that the ambulance was not one of the ambulances distributed to the constituencies. The ambulance brand in the viral video is a Toyota Hiace Deluxe brand, not a Mercedes-Benz.
Also, the ambulance has no inscription on it that is directly linked to the missing ambulance in Pru East.
Return to the Ambulance Service
Even though our checks established that, indeed, the government had placed orders for 26 new ambulances as indicated in the Auditor General’s report, even though we had established that the reported missing Pru East Ambulance is not the same as the one in the viral video; there were still huge gaps to fill by the Ambulance Service. For instance, how did SK Motors, a company that described itself as an exporter of vehicles, become a manufacturer as stated by the Ambulance Service’s statement; what procurement processes went into selecting SK Motors in Dubai to manufacture and export the vehicles to Ghana? When is the country receiving the remaining ambulances, and why the delay? What is the status of the reported missing Pru East Ambulance? So DUBAWA returned to the Service for further and better particulars.
In a phone interview, the Director of the Ambulance Service, Ahmed Zakaria, told DUBAWA the service played no role in procuring the 26 ambulances and could not speak to them. According to him, the Health Ministry supervised the transaction, so they should respond to DUBAWA’s queries.
He also stated that he has no knowledge about a missing Pru East ambulance. As far as he was concerned, no ambulance had gone missing. DUBAWA then proceeded to the Bono Region for a discussion with Superintendent EMT Alex Gampo, who is in charge of Pru East Ambulance, to discover the whereabouts of the Pru East Ambulance. He denied claims the ambulance had gone missing. Rather, he told the researcher the ambulance in question had gone for repairs in Kumasi and was definitely within the reach and access by the service.
Journey to the Ministry
Following the decision by the Ambulance Service to decline comment on the details of the procurement processes for the vehicles, DUBAWA proceeded to the ministry for answers.
But efforts to reach the ministry to respond to the many questions have proved futile. The ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Issac Offeh Baah, would not respond to phone calls and WhatsApp messages, even though the messages had been delivered and read.
What is SK Motors’ reaction to viral video
Responding to the viral video in a Facebook post on May 30, 2023, SK Motors SFZO, the car dealership company in charge of exporting the ambulances to Ghana from Dubai, refuted the claim and explained that the vehicle featured in the video was merely a demonstration model and not meant for public purchase.
“Concerning the viral video of an ambulance in our parking yard, we deeply regret that someone took and circulated this video without our consent. It is disheartening to know that it may mislead the people of Ghana and tarnish the image of both the Government of Ghana and our company, S K Motors.
Please understand that the ambulance featured in the video is part of a World Bank-funded consignment intended to enhance emergency medical services in Ghana. It was never meant for public purchase and was merely a demonstration model. We sincerely apologize for any confusion caused and want to assure you that we remain steadfast in upholding ethical practices.”
Conclusion
Even though the claim in the viral video about the missing ambulance being sold in Dubai is false, questions remain about the procurement processes of those vehicles and when they would all arrive in Ghana.
