NPP Ministers flex muscles

…As they descend on Okudzeto Ablakwa over seizure of cars

STORY BY WILLIAM BEEKO

Former Ministers of the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) under Ex-President Kufuor has cautioned the Deputy Minister of Information Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa over the choice of words when dealing with ex-ministers of the Kufuor administration.

According to them, the kind of words the Minister used to describe ex-ministers during a press conference on the seizure of cars a few weeks ago was very derogatory and abusive.

The ex-ministers further advised the Deputy Minister of information to be very mindful in his utterances when dealing with issues on ex-ministers.

The ex-ministers led by the MP for Okai-koi South Constituency, Hon. Nana Akomea was addressing a media confab in Accra to clear the air on what has sparked public attention in the past five months which is the seizure of cars from ex-ministers.

Nana Akomea said Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa minced no words and indicated that former ministers and officials of the previous government have out of ‘greed’ ‘criminal intentions,’ ‘fled’ with government vehicles and are still ‘illegally’ keeping such vehicles.

Nana Akomea debunked these allegations and explained that the policy has always been that certain categories of public officials can exercise the option of buying their official vehicles at the end of their service.

These categories of people according to Nana Akomea include Ministers of State, political appointees, Chief Directors, Judges, Governors of the Bank of Ghana and other heads of parastatals.

Mr. Nana Akomea observed that at the last transition in the year 2001, over 80 former officials of the previous NDC Government, exercised their option of buying their official cars.

“There was a prescribed procedure that an eligible officer had to go through at that time; an official had to apply to buy the vehicle, be given a letter to the State Transport Corporation for valuation to be done on the vehicle, pay the value at the Bank of Ghana and then be given a letter to VELD to effect change of ownership,” he stressed.

He said the policy however limited automatic eligibility of vehicles that have been used for over two years.
“In the case of vehicles less than two years, the eligibility is not automatic but considered on a case by case basis,” he lamented adding that “in the year 2001 during the transition process, some former ministers of the NDC whose vehicles were less than two years old applied and got approvals on a case by case basis; similarly, in 2008/2009, some former NPP Ministers whose vehicles were less than two years old had also applied for permission to exercise the option of purchasing their official vehicles.”

Mr. Nana Akomea pointed out that former ministers and other appointees under the NPP administration have not stolen vehicles or fled with government vehicles illegally holding vehicles.

“Those former ministers and appointees had exercised the option of officially buying the vehicles and were in various stages of the due process in exercising the option when they were asked to hold on till further notice,” Nana Akomea maintained.
He said there have been various incidents of searches and vehicle seizures which have given a lot of cause for alarm.

“These incidents included searches conducted in the homes of former ministers and even Members of Parliament, outright snatching of cars on the streets and in garages, including that of private citizens, the latest being the seizure of NPP Campaign pick ups parked for safekeeping on a farm near Kumasi,” Nana Akomea reiterated.