The Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, stated that with the risk of a judgement debt hanging over its head, government renegotiated with Amalgamated Securities Limited, purchasing only 34 of the initially agreed 43 cars, saving about three hundred thousand dollars in the process.

He stated that the remainder was used to purchase 100 Toyota Corollas for the Police Service.

“Government has however made sure to obtain maximum gain for the public purse and also for ensuring the security of the state.We have reduced the number of vehicles ordered from 43 to 34, which is nine short of the original number. 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 them play effectively, their role of protecting the Ghanaian people.We have done all this with a total amount of US$ 8.8 million,” the Information Minister said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The deal for the purchase of the cars, according to Mr. Hamid, which was signed with Amalgamated Securities Limited could not be abrogated, hence the decision to accept the cars.

“Government is bound by the terms of the contract signed with Amalgamated Securities Limited. Abrogating the contract may incur significant liabilities for the government,” he added.

‘Dodgy contracts’

Mustapha Hamid stated that, government had made significant savings from renegotiating other deals brokered by the previous administration.

He added that the Auditor General was asked to probe all the deals and possible financial expenses the nation might incur from them

According to him, 5.4 billion cedis of legacy debts have been found by the State Auditor to be dodgy.

“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. In the Ministry of Education, for example, we renegotiated the cost of printing textbooks, which the former government had signed with printers. Instead of 134 million cedis, we renegotiated downwards to 89 million cedis,” he said.

“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 5.4 billion cedis of legacy debts are dodgy.”

43 cars down to 34

Citi News had reported that Government over the weekend took delivery of 34 cars for the presidency, ten of which have bullet resistant exterior.

The contract for the presidential fleet was awarded by the John Mahama administration barely a week before they left office.

The original number of cars ordered was 43. The New Patriotic Party administration, which had attempted to cancel the entire contract but failed due to certain clauses in the contract, managed to reduce the number to 34.

Back in June 2017, some NDC officials accused the NPP administration of playing double-standards, after news about the presidential fleet emerged, despite an order by President Nana Akufo-Addo, halting the purchase of new vehicles.

The government then explained that it could not be blamed for the presidential fleet because the order had already been placed by John Dramani Mahama administration before they exited office after the elections in 2016.

‘NPP wanted the cars’

Former NDC appointees including Dr. Clement Apaak, who worked at the presidency, suggested that the cars were ordered upon the request of the NPP government during the transition period, a claim the government vehemently denied.

Dr. Apaak noted that, the Mahama administration agreed to the request by Nana Akufo-Addo’s side of the transition team because they had raised concerns about the incoming President’s security.

While the parties argued over the matter, Citi News sighted a letter signed by the then Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, authorizing the purchase.

This letter was signed two days before then-President; John Mahama, inaugurated the Presidential transition team, which he co-chaired with then President-elect, Nana Akufo Addo.

This revelation contradicted the NDC’s claims that the NPP made the request during the transition period.

Earlier documents sighted by Citi News revealed that, the contract for the new cars for the Presidency was specifically awarded by the Mahama government on the 3rd of January, 2017, to Amalgamated Security Services LTD.

The two-paragraph letter authorizing the purchase was dated December 9, 2016, whereas the transition team was officially inaugurated on December 11, 2016.

The letter noted that, the deal was authorized by the outgoing Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, to take note of the decision to purchase the 43 vehicles “for necessary action accordingly.”

The letter also clearly stated that, the outgoing government had “decided to acquire some vehicles for the incoming administration”.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Money saved from 9 ‘luxury cars’ paid for 100 Police cars appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7Qk0fFRqFqkWV1r2e4SB4VhGXGih85fW”]Currently in transit in Dubai, the vehicles were ordered a few days before the then government left office.

Speaking on the Point Blank segment of Eyewitness News,  the Minister for Information, Mustapha Hamid has said government will accept the vehicles if it discovers the contract was transparent enough.

“The last time I spoke with National Security, they were in talks with the importer. I think that if the contract to buy these cars was awarded transparently, nothing wrong with the transaction and they have been bought with state money I think in my view, we will have to take them,” said Mr. Hamid.

Mr. Hamid also clarified that the said moratorium placed on the purchase of vehicles by President Nana Addo would not apply in this case since the vehicles were not purchased under the NPP administration.

NPP did not request for vehicles 

A former Presidential staffer in the John Mahama administration, Dr. Clement Apaak, had disclosed that his government ordered some 43 new vehicles few days before leaving office upon the request of NPP government.

Mr. Hamid however refuted these claims,  saying the allegation had “proven to be wrong.”

Documents sighted by Citi News reveal that, the contract was awarded by the erstwhile government on the 3rd of January, 2017, to Amalgamated Security Services LTD for the purchase of 43 vehicles for the presidency.

There are fears government could pay a judgement debt if it cancels the contract.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post We’ll accept 43 new cars if …- Mustapha Hamid appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Ato Forson reiterated a previous position by a fellow National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament, that the vehicles were ordered upon the express request of the current administration.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8LjMtZbVJTZn4sRxq5MYpEJ6wD7MaiZX”]“It hurts when you deal with someone at that high level and you expect that everybody will keep good faith to their promise and when you authorize somebody to do something on your behalf and you change your position, I think it is bad faith,” he said to the media on Tuesday.

Denial from gov’t

The Akufo-Addo administration has maintained it knew nothing of this deal despite claims by a former Presidential Staffer, Dr Clement Apaak.

A deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, speaking on the authority of the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, insisted that there were no conversations of this kind to purchase new vehicles.

Dr. Apaak had claimed that the current government agreed with the then out-going Mahama government to buy the 43 new vehicles a few days before leaving office.

Deal authorized before transition process

Later on, a two-paragraph letter authorizing the purchase dated December 9, 2016 emerged, and it was signed by the former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah two days before the Transition team was officially inaugurated on December 11, 2016.

The letter noted that, the deal was authorized by the outgoing Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, to take note of the decision to purchase the 43 vehicles “for necessary action accordingly.”

The letter also clearly stated that, the outgoing government had “decided to acquire some vehicles for the incoming administration.”

Earlier documents sighted by Citi News revealed that the contract for the new cars for the Presidency was awarded by the Mahama government on the 3rd of January, 2017, to Amalgamated Security Services LTD.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Gov’t’s claim it didn’t request new cars disappointing – Ato Forson appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A former Presidential staffer in the Mahama administration, Dr. Clement Apaak, had claimed that his government ordered the vehicles a few days before leaving office, upon the request of the incoming Akufo-Addo administration.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TF4RHitYsO9BHT6tzrf8k9zmQQrQhdo3″]But the Akufo-Addo administration subsequently denied these claims, saying it had no hand in placing the request.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Cudjoe said the NPP administration has no business paying for the cars if it did not indeed order them.

“If the current administration is insisting they cannot be blamed for this then they simply should not pay for the cars. In any case the cars are meant for the state but as we are now told, there was no agreement …the current administration did not make any request..”

He also charged the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration to offer explanations on “why they should not be saddled with the debt.”

Potential judgment debt

Documents sighted by Citi News revealed that the contract for the new cars for the Presidency was awarded by the Mahama government on the 3rd of January, 2017, to Amalgamated Security Services LTD.

However, the contract is in limbo following the recent moratorium placed on the purchase of new vehicles by President Akufo-Addo.

Checks by Citi News reveal that the said vehicles have already been purchased and are currently in Dubai, and there are fears government could pay a judgement debt if it cancels the contract.

Apaak struggles to prove claims NPP requested for new cars

Meanwhile, the former Presidential staffer, Dr. Clement Apaak has failed to prove his claims that the John Mahama government ordered the new vehicles for the presidency few weeks before leaving office, on the behest of the current government.

Mr. Apaak, the Buila South MP, who first made the claim on Citi FM’s ‘Big Issue’, had promised to provide further evidence to back his claims.

But when he was called back on Eyewitness News on Monday after a Deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah had denied his claims, he failed to back down, and insisted he was right because some sources gave him that information.

Dr. Apaak’s account of events is even more questionable, especially as Citi News has sighted a document which suggests that an approval was given for the purchase of the car by the then Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, even before the formation of the transition team.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Don’t pay for 43 cars if you didn’t request for them – Franklin Cudjoe appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on the authority of the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, who was the co-chairman of the Transition team, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah asserted that “there was not even a conversation of this kind to purchase new vehicles or to even request for new vehicles.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”azBWFMVp2E5vdEeLU5QXibEGBtxN9NSP”]A former Presidential staffer in the Mahama administration, Dr. Clement Apaak, had disclosed that his government ordered some 43 new vehicles a few days before leaving office, upon the request of the incoming Akufo-Addo administration.

Dr. Apaak also noted that, the Mahama administration agreed to the request by Nana Akufo-Addo’s side because they felt that the security of the incoming president was of importance.

But speaking to the claims on the Citi Breakfast Show,  Mr. Oppong Nkrumah recalled that, “in all the transition meetings that we attended and in all the matters that we discussed, I had never heard of this matter.”

He noted further that “the minutest of requests” are put on paper, so Mr. Apaak was free to substantiate his allegations, with respect to the order of the cars.

“The first step when somebody makes a claim like this will be to ask him whether or not he can back this verbal claim he is making… with some sort some proof that indeed shows that this request was made before we escalate it to this level of conversation.”

Aside from this, in the Deputy Minister’s view, it would have been an oddity for his side of the transition team to insist on the previous government buying the vehicles because, “you would want to then come in and even make your own choices, even for security reasons, etc.”

Potential judgment debt

Documents sighted by Citi News revealed that the contract for the new cars for the Presidency was awarded by the Mahama government on the 3rd of January, 2017, to Amalgamated Security Services LTD.

However, the contract is in limbo following the recent moratorium placed on the purchase of new vehicles by President Akufo-Addo.

Checks by Citi News reveal that the said vehicles have already been purchased and are currently in Dubai and there are fears government could pay a judgement debt if it cancels the contract.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Akufo-Addo gov’t didn’t ask for new cars – Oppong Nkrumah appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.