The President of policy think tank IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe has urged government to sell some of its vehicles to foot the bill for the Ghana’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the week disclosed that government intends to spend GHc20 million on the celebration with support from the private sector.
But speaking on Citi FM’s News analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday, Franklin Cudjoe said the amount realized from auctioning a few of the vehicles could help raise funds for the celebration.
There has been controversy over some missing vehicles allegedly taken by some officials of the previous John Mahama government.
Whereas the New Patriotic Party administration insists that over 200 vehicles from the presidency fleet were missing, spokespersons of the former government argue that they handed over 641 vehicles before exiting office.
Franklin Cudjoe noted that “I pray that we find the cars because we could easily sell some of them.”
“For instance the Toyota Land Cruiser, 142 of them, we could get about GHc10 million, Toyota Avalon, there are 33 of them, we could get GHc9 million, Toyota Corolla, 58 of them, you could probably get GHc17 million. Toyota Camry, 75 of them, you could probably make easily make 30 million. Toyota Prado, 54, you can easily make some GHc4 million and the list goes on and on.”
“If you look at the cost of the cars and the maintenance cost of these cars, you are getting into dizzying heights. So my issue is if you are looking for GHc20 million for Ghana at 60, fair and square, let’s find 142 Land Cruisers… and do a mass auction at the Independence Square. You don’t need 641 cars at the presidency,” he explained.
NDC staffers purchased 271 salon cars at the presidency
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Samuel George, who was also on The Big Issue explained that about 271 of the vehicles allegedly missing vehicles from the President’s vehicle pool were purchasedby some officials of the former government.
According to Same George, although he declined to purchase the vehicle allocated to him while serving as a Presidential staffer under the former government, some of his colleagues bought theirs after the vehicles were duly properly valuated by the State Transport Company.
“A number of my colleagues chose to buy their cars. I for personal reasons declined to buy my car and I returned it to the director of logistics at the Office of President. We put out a list of 641 vehicles. We handed over about 370 vehicles to the assets and logistics committee [of the new government] and these vehicles were physically inspected by the assets committee led by lawyer Ayikoi Otu,” he added.
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