The government will auction the 86 hyundai galloper vehicles that have been abandoned at the Institute of Local Government Studies at Madina in Accra since 2001.
A Deputy Minister of Finance, Kweku Kwarteng, who revealed this to Citi News said the government is looking to dispose of the vehicles before the end of 2018.
[contextly_sidebar id=”CCc2JMLcnkdtkG3siCgVuwz1agNJDBnn”]According to Kweku Kwarteng, the government is concerned about the deteriorating situation of the vehicles, and is working hard to ensure that it gets some value from it whiles disposing them off.
“We have gone to look at the vehicles. There were issues in court relating to those vehicles that in the past made it difficult for not just Customs Service, but government to proceed to dispose of those vehicles. But a lot of those matters have been resolved now and given the rate at which those vehicles are deteriorating, we have made the decision to dispose of them. We are looking to do that before the year closes. All of us feel concerned that the mere presence of those vehicles suggest to taxpayers that their monies will not be put to good use.”
18 years after the government procured them, the vehicles are yet to be used for their intended purposes due to what some government officials have said is the challenge with paying the importers, African Automobile Limited (AAL).
As at 2012, the amount said to be demanded by the company was $1.5billion with reports suggesting a daily interest of GHs50 on each of the vehicle.
But Kweku Kwarteng says the government is committed to ensuring that it makes the most from the cars.
He said although the vehicles are yet to be cleared by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, a valuation has been done and the government may go through Customs for them to be auctioned.
“We feel extremely concerned about it, and it is the reason we are taking steps to ensure that those vehicles are disposed of as soon as possible. The valuation is finished, I’m yet to see the report, but once we know how much the vehicle cost, we may do it through auction or to the extent that those vehicles have not been cleared, so technically, duties on them have not been paid. We can come under the Customs Act and also dispose of through auction as overstayed vehicles. The important thing is to dispose of the vehicles and get as much value as we can on the vehicles.”
Several complaints have been made about number of abandoned vehicles in the country including ambulances whose dysfuntional state continue to cost the nation a lot of money.
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By: Jonas Nyabor | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
