In his latest exposé on corruption scandals under the Akufo-Addo administration, North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has dropped another bombshell of a supposed shady ambulance procurement deal worth 34.9 million dollars (GH₵538 million).
Mr Ablakwa, who made the revelation in a Facebook post on Monday, July 22 backed by some documentary evidence of the transaction, said it was made possible through the connivance of the then Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and the former Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu.
He said the beneficiary company, known as Service Ghana Auto Group Limited, was incorporated on April 24, 2020.
“Unimpeachable intercepted documents from Ghana’s Ministry of Finance reveal yet another scandal of enormous proportions.”
Five days before leaving the Ministry of Finance after President Akufo-Addo’s lame-duck Valentine’s Day reshuffle, Ken Ofori-Atta decided to teach us one more unforgettable bitter lesson. Perhaps, it was his special way of exiting with a vengeance after incessant and relentless calls from suffering Ghanaians to have him sacked.”
He said, “In a grand ‘lootocratic’ conspiracy with the outgoing Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu who was also affected by the reshuffle, the two abysmal performing ministers decided to cause more financial loss — it seems from the Sputnik V scandal, mismanagement of billions of covid funds, benefiting directly from loans accumulated, all the way to Ghana’s current bankruptcy — the two outgoing disastrous ministers didn’t think they have already wrecked enough havoc to have mercy on us.
In his last shockingly sleazy conduct, Ken Ofori-Atta by a letter dated 9th February 2024 approved a staggering US$34,904,505.00 to be paid to the discredited Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for the procurement of spare parts for the 307 ambulances purchased by the government in 2019.”
According to Mr Ablakwa, on the same 9th February 2024, the Finance Minister instructed the Controller and Accountant-General to release US$ 10 million, equivalent to GHS120, 711,000.00.
“My impeccable tracking of this transaction confirms that the Controller and Accountant-General processed and released the GHS120, 711,000.00 on February 23, 2024, which was promptly received in the accounts of Service Ghana Auto Group Limited.
The former Deputy Education Minister added that “an analysis of this dubiously outrageous transaction valued at US$34,904,505.00 for spare parts for 307 ambulances, actually translates into US$113,695.456.00 per ambulance.”
Instructively, checks from many Mercedes Benz ambulance dealers across the world show that US$113,695,456.00 is far more than the value of a considerable number of modern fully equipped new ambulances.”
Why sign a rip-off and an unconscionable sweetheart deal of US$113,695.456.00 just for spare parts when you can buy a new fully equipped modern Mercedes Benz ambulance for the same value, and even less? What happened to value for money and love for country?” he quizzed.
According to Mr Ablakwa, further parliamentary oversight reveals that Service Ghana Auto Group Limited was incorporated on April 24, 2020.
Source: joynews
