Some of the vehicles government purports to be missing were sold to some members of the erstwhile Mahama administration, former presidential staffer Sam George has revealed.
According to him, the sale conforms to standard practice over the years where vehicles that have been in use for more than two years are put on sale. He explained that outgoing officials are given the right to purchase only saloon cars and four wheel drives.
There is currently a back and forth between the Akufo-Addo government and the erstwhile Mahama administration concerning the number of state vehicles left at the presidency after the president’s press secretary Eugene Arhin revealed that 208 state cars were missing. The former government subsequently released a statement on Thursday saying it left behind 641 cars and dared the new government to point out the alleged missing ones.
However, commenting on the issue on Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday February 11, the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram suggested that a total of 271 vehicles were sold and 371 cars handed over to the incoming government.
“A number of my colleagues chose to buy their car but I for personal reasons declined to buy. I returned my car to the Director of Logistics at the Office of the presidency. We have put out a list of 641 vehicles; we handed, if my memory is right, 370 vehicles to the Asset and Logistics Committee,” he said.
He continued: “I spoke to the outgone Director of Logistics who was a political appointee who was responsible for the fleet…He said we handed over 370 vehicles. These vehicles were physically inspected by the asset committee led by lawyer Ayikoi Otoo.
“There is a disparity between 370 and 641, this is because 271 saloon cars were purchased by staffers who had put in a request to purchase vehicles which were two years and above.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
