By William
Yaw Owusu
Wednesday
February 07, 2018
The specialized vehicles - some bulletproof - ordered
by then President John Dramani Mahama at the tail end of his National
Democratic Congress (NDC) administration on January 3, 2017, have arrived.
The acquisition of the vehicles, which sparked
heated political debate during the transition in early 2017, reportedly arrived
via air cargo; and DAILY GUIDE understands that they include Mercedes Benz (S600),
BMW and Toyota Land Cruisers.
43
vrs 34
However, the deal, which was worth $9.1 million for
the procurement of 43 special vehicles with communication squadron and
ambulances, was re-negotiated by the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government,
and as a result, the contract sum reduced to $8.8 million.
In the end, the NPP government took delivery of 34
vehicles instead of the original 43, and the money that was to have been paid
on the nine outstanding vehicles was used to purchase 100 Toyota Corolla cars
for the Ghana Police Service (GPS).
Sources said additional 100 Toyota Camry cars may be
added to the deal.
Setting
The Records
Information Minister Mustapha Hamid said at a news
conference yesterday that the “government is bound by the terms of the contract
signed with Amalgamated Securities Limited,” and added that “abrogating the
contract may incur significant liabilities for government.”
He indicated that “in doing so, government has
however, made sure to obtain maximum gain for the public purse and also for
ensuring the security of the state. The government of President Mahama ordered
43 VIP vehicles at a cost of $9.1 million.”
Mr. Mustapha Hamid stated that the government
renegotiated the terms of the contract such that it was able to reduce the
number of vehicles ordered from 43 to 34, which is nine short of the original
number.
Police
Cars
“In place of the nine, we have acquired 100 Toyota
Corolla cars for use by the Police Service in line with our commitment to
retool the Police Service to enable it play effectively, its role of protecting
the Ghanaian people. We have done all this with a total amount of 8.8 million
United States Dollars,” he underscored.
The minister said, “This decision is consistent with
our approach towards contracts that we came to meet, where if possible, we have
renegotiated the terms to make them more favourable to the Ghanaian people.”
Education
Sector
He said for example, that the Ministry of Education
renegotiated the cost of printing textbooks, which the former government had
signed with printers and instead of GH¢134 million, the ministry was able to renegotiate
downwards to GH¢89 million.
“It is in this same spirit that the Finance Minister
asked the Auditor General to audit the financial liabilities that had been
bequeathed to us, and which has revealed that some GH¢5.4 billion of legacy
debts are dodgy,” Mr Hamid pointed out.
The minister said the government remains committed
to protecting the public purse while ensuring value for money and securing the
greater good of the people.
Transition
Heat
In the heat of the transition, it emerged that then
President Mahama, with only three days to leave office after failing to secure
a second term bid, ordered a fleet of expensive vehicles for the presidency to
the chagrin of the incoming NPP administration.
Per the contractual terms, the vehicles were to be
delivered within 60 days after which payment would be made.
However, their delivery ran into difficulties due to
some unresolved issues, including the indefinite moratorium placed on the
acquisition of new vehicles by the Akufo-Addo-led NPP administration.
But with the valid contract between the importing
company and the Ghana government, huge judgement debt loomed if it (government)
had gone ahead to abrogate the contract.
The contract was signed on behalf of the previous NDC
government by Alhaji Salifu Osman, a Deputy National Security Coordinator, who
is currently standing trial in the $4 million National Communications Authority
(NCA) scandal.
The
Vehicles
Per the contract, the fleet was to cover the president,
vice president, first and the second ladies and the presidential press corps.
The vehicles are mostly Mercedes Benz (S600) bullet-proof
made for the security of the president and his vice, as well as their wives,
and Cross-country vehicles, for long distant treks and escorts and two Cross-country
rapid intervention vehicles, two Cross-country ambulances and a pickup with
radio and communication as lead car.
A large number of the cars were to be allocated to
the office of the president and the vice president, while the remaining ones were
to go to the office of the first and the second ladies, as well as the security
agents.
NDC’s
Defence
In the heat of the debate, the NDC leaders insisted
that the previous Mahama administration indeed placed the order to re-stock the
depleting presidential fleet for the incoming regime in order to make room for
the smooth running of the new administration.
Currently, the president uses 10-year old BMW which
occasionally breaks down with high servicing costs; and when the car go for
servicing, he uses his private ones, which is detrimental to his personal
security.
No comments:
Post a Comment