He claimed a procurement deal for ambulance spare parts valued at $34.9 million was a scheme by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, former Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, and the private company to defraud the state.

Following this, the Health Ministry in statement on July 25, clarified that the contract in question was initially signed on September 10, 2020, by the now defunct Ministry of Special Development Initiatives for the maintenance of 307 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 315 CDI ambulances.

The agreement required the supplier to provide a projected budget for spare parts and lubricants.

Without addressing the corruption allegations specifically, the Ministry of Health said the Finance Minister took action only upon the Health Ministry’s request following the dissolution of the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives.

“The Ministry of Health would like to clarify that the Service Provider, Ghana Auto Group Limited, has not been paid an amount of $34.9 million as widely reported.

“The Ministry of Health is committed to ensuring a sustainable maintenance regime for all fleets procured for the National Ambulance Service to provide reliable, efficient, and safe emergency medical services,” an excerpt of the statement said.

The Ministry emphasized that all related documentation is available to the public and reiterated its commitment to ensuring a sustainable maintenance regime for the ambulance fleet.

It remains open to support efforts to clarify any remaining issues regarding the contract.

Read the full statement below:

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The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has raised serious concerns about the company’s practices and the legitimacy of the contracts it received.

Speaking on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem on Tuesday, Ablakwa pointed out significant discrepancies with the company.

He revealed that, Service Ghana Auto was incorporated on April 24, 2020, over a year after the 307 new ambulances were commissioned by President Akufo-Addo on January 28, 2019.

He highlighted that the company was unregistered when it began maintaining ambulances in January 2020 and only officially registered in April 2020, yet it operated without a formal contract for eight months while still receiving payments.

Despite these findings, the company was paid GH₵115 million between 2020 and 2023.

He added that an Auditor General’s report from 2022 cited that Service Ghana Auto Group Limited had inflated invoices and lacked adequate staff, resorting to using mechanics from the National Ambulance Service.

Mr Ablakwa further questioned the government’s decision to award an even larger contract worth $34.9 million (GH₵538 million) to Service Ghana Auto Group, despite the damning audit report and previous payments of GH₵115 million that did not deliver value for money.

“How did an unqualified company secure this contract? How can any Government which claims to care about protecting the public purse be aware of this damning audit report and still proceed to award an even bigger contract of US$34.9million (GHS538million) when Ghana did not get value for money after previously paying Service Ghana Auto Group Limited GHS115million?

“This is a company that should be blacklisted, yet it continues to receive new contracts,” he said.

Ablakwa further called on the public to join the fight to recover the remaining funds.

He expressed hope that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) would intervene and help prevent further misuse of public funds.

Mr Ablakwa, who made the revelation in a Facebook post on Monday, July 22 backed by some documentary evidence of the transaction, is accusing the former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and the former Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu of conniving with a private entity to rip off the state.

He alleges the Finance Minister hurriedly approved the deal five days before he was removed as Finance Minister.

According to him, the beneficiary company, known as Service Ghana Auto Group Limited, was incorporated on April 24, 2020, a year after the ambulances had been commissioned in 2019, questioning their capacity to service ambulances.

“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 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.”

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 the MP, a 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 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” he noted.

Mr Ablakwa is particularly shocked that a company that had been indicted for all the wrong reasons in an Auditor General’s report could be selected for such a transaction.

“What is even more depressing, the Auditor General’s special audit titled — Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General on Fleet Management of the National Ambulance Service which was published on May 25, 2022, had the following extremely damning conclusions about Service Ghana Auto Group Limited:

I) Service Ghana Auto Group Limited inflated invoices;
II) Service Ghana Auto Group Limited in many instances used staff of the National Ambulance Service for its maintenance even though all payments went to their company;
III) Service Ghana Auto Group Limited consistently breached maintenance schedules and procedures and
IV) The Service Ghana Auto Group Limited MoU with the National Ambulance Service did not inure to the benefit of the National Ambulance Service.
How can any Government which claims to care about protecting the public purse be aware of this damning audit report and still proceed to award an even bigger contract of US$34.9million (GHS538million) when Ghana did not get value for money after previously paying Service Ghana Auto Group Limited GHS115million?

He later told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, that the Auditor General’s report even went further to recommend that the company makes a refund to the state.

Who would have predicted that a government trying everything by hook or crook to have Minority Leader, Hon. Dr Ato Forson convicted in that infamous ambulance trial for allegedly causing financial loss of €2.37million would itself be recklessly, mindlessly and criminally causing real financial loss over US$34.9million through another ambulance transaction. Tomorrow is indeed pregnant “Mr Ablakwa concluded.