….Hawa Koomson’s multiple purchase price; Ofori-Atta’s US$34.9 million spare parts revealed

The procurement of 307 ambulances under the One-Constituency-One-Ambulance initiative, has come under scrutiny, and the carcasses have started emerging from their hideouts with a foul smell.

While, there are discrepancies in the purchase prices, those involved in decision-making, also have been cited to have made some questionable spending with national resources.

 The Herald investigations into the procurement of the 307 ambulances, have only revealed that Mavis Hawa Koomson, didn’t quote multiple figures as the cost of the cars; US$40.831 million and US$54.339 million; but that former Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta, had authorized the purchase of the spare parts for the vehicle at the cost of US$20 million. 

However, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, has suggested that the former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, currently President  Akufo-Addo’s Senior Presidential Advisor and Special Envoy for International Finance and Private Sector Investments, rather spent a whopping US$34.9 million (GH¢538 million) deal for the servicing of the 307 Mercedes Benz vehicles turned into ambulances. 

 Ablakwa revealed that Ofori-Atta, in collaboration with former Minister of Health, Kweku Agyemang-Manu, facilitated the payment to Service Ghana Auto Group Limited located at East Legen -Accra in Boundary Road, American House, Near UBA Bank, managed by a certain Dr Christian Siaw-Missah. 

 In a Facebook post, Ablakwa stated that Ofori-Atta, instructed the Controller and Accountant-General to release US$10 million, equivalent to GH¢120,711,000.

 He disclosed that, deeper parliamentary oversight through GIFMIS assessments, also confirms that even before this US$34.9million scandalous Ken Ofori-Atta/Agyeman-Manu send-off package, Service Ghana Auto Group Limited, has received a colossal GH¢115,342,573 in payments for shoddy servicing of the ambulances between 2020 and 2023.

 He added that so far, Service Ghana Auto Group Limited alone, will be making a mind-boggling GH¢653million from these ambulances.

 Ablakwa known for his exposes, said the figure is more than double how much the ambulances cost us in 2019, prevailing the exchange rate of US$54million, which was the cost of the 307 ambulances in 2019.

 On the cost of the 307 ambulances, in 2019, while serving as Minister for Special Development Initiative, Mrs Koomson, who doubles as the MP for Kasoa, had mentioned that each of the ambulances commissioned on Tuesday, January 28, 2019, by President Akufo-Addo, was procured at US$133,000, working up to US$40.831 million.

 The same woman on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, reiterated, “Each of the ambulances costs US$133,000 with two years warranty and full premium insurance being handled by a local company.”

However, the same lady, later mentioned that the Akufo-Addo government spent US$177,000 to procure each of the 307 ambulances under the One-Constituency, One-Ambulance programme, amounting to a total of US$54.339 million.

Hawa Koomson, gave the new price when she appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, on Thursday, February 18, 2021, for her vetting as the Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development. 

She explained that the ambulances were Mercedes Benz brand and that all the six contractors who won the bid, received dealer authorization permits from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) in compliance with the country’s procurement laws, but failed to mention the name of the supplier, as she had done a year earlier when she quoted the US$40,831 million. 

The One-Constituency, One-Ambulance procurement processes, she went on, involved production, distribution and insurance cover on the ambulances.

Interestingly, ahead of the purchase of the 307 ambulances, the Akufo-Addo government, had abandoned the agreement for the same Mercedes ambulances signed under the Mahama administration with Richard Jakpa and his partners; Big Seas, with President Akufo-Addo, leading the chorus in labelling them inferior; a case of giving a dog a bad name and hanging it.

Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the current minority leader in parliament, and businessman, Richard Jakpa, have been accused of willfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of 2.37 million Euros through the purchase of 30 out of the 200 ambulances.

The Jakpa’s ambulances, have been left to rust, while the Akufo-Addo government found US$54.339 million to pay another supplier to fulfill the NPP’s manifesto promise.

Below is Samuel OKudzeto Ablakwa’s statement

THE US$34.9 MILLION (GHS538 MILLION) AMBULANCE SCANDAL AND HOW SERVICE GHANA AUTO GROUP LIMITED HAS MADE A COOL GHS653MILLION THROUGH INFLATED INVOICES

Unimpeachable intercepted documents from Ghana’s Ministry of Finance reveal yet another scandal of ginormous 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.

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 wreaked 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.

On the same 9th February 2024, the busy 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.

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 worldwide, show that US$113,695,456.00, is far more than the value of a considerable number of modern fully equipped 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?

Further parliamentary oversight reveals that Service Ghana Auto Group Limited was incorporated on April 24, 2020.

Service Ghana Auto Group Limited was, therefore incorporated more than a year after the 307 new ambulances were commissioned by President Akufo-Addo on January 28, 2019.

Typical of how this incurably corrupt government operates, the company was handpicked without a competitive procurement process.

Additionally, the Government appears not to have done much due diligence on the directors of the company — I shall return to this in much detail later.

Deeper parliamentary oversight through GIFMIS assessments also confirms that even before this US$34.9million scandalous Ken Ofori-Atta/Agyeman-Manu send-off package, Service Ghana Auto Group Limited has received a colossal GHS115,342,573 in payments for shoddy servicing of the ambulances between 2020 and 2023.

This means, so far, Service Ghana Auto Group Limited alone will be making a mind-boggling GHS653 million from these ambulances. This figure is more than double of how much the ambulances cost us in 2019. (Prevailing exchange rate of US$54million which was the cost of the 307 ambulances in 2019.)

One wonders if the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government procured the ambulances to save lives or if they were procured to serve as an unbridled cash cow for corrupt politicians and their business collaborators.

What is even more depressing, is the Auditor-General’s special audit titled: Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General on Fleet Management of the National Ambulance Service in.

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