Ofori-Atta approved questionable $34m ambulance deal days before leaving office – Ablakwa alleges

In his latest exposé on alleged corruption within the Akufo-Addo administration, North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has unveiled a purportedly shady ambulance procurement deal valued at $34.9 million (GH₵538 million).

Ablakwa made the revelation in a Facebook post on Monday, July 22, supported by documentary evidence of the transaction. He claimed the deal was orchestrated by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and former Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu.

According to Ablakwa, the beneficiary company, Service Ghana Auto Group Limited, was incorporated on April 24, 2020.

“Unimpeachable intercepted documents from Ghana’s Ministry of Finance reveal yet another scandal of ginormous proportions,” Ablakwa stated.

He further alleged that five days before leaving the Ministry of Finance, following President Akufo-Addo’s reshuffle, Ken Ofori-Atta approved a payment of $34,904,505 to Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for procuring spare parts for the 307 ambulances purchased by the government in 2019.

On the same day, February 9, 2024, Ofori-Atta instructed the Controller and Accountant-General to release $10 million (GHS120,711,000), which was subsequently received by Service Ghana Auto Group Limited on February 23, 2024.

Ablakwa criticized the transaction, highlighting that the cost of $34,904,505 for spare parts translates to $113,695 per ambulance, which he argued is far more than the cost of new, fully equipped ambulances.

“Why sign a rip-off deal of $113,695 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 the country?” he questioned.

Further parliamentary oversight, according to Ablakwa, revealed that Service Ghana Auto Group Limited had already received GHS115,342,573 for shoddy servicing of the ambulances between 2020 and 2023. He noted that the total amount paid to the company would exceed GHS653 million, more than double the cost of the ambulances purchased in 2019.

Ablakwa expressed dismay at the government’s decision to award another contract to Service Ghana Auto Group Limited despite a damning audit report.

The report by the Auditor-General, published on May 25, 2022, found that the company inflated invoices, used National Ambulance Service staff for maintenance, breached maintenance schedules, and had an unfavorable Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Ambulance Service.

He vowed to petition the Special Prosecutor to investigate the transaction, emphasizing, “Stinky create, loot and share shall be fearlessly defeated! For God and Country. Ghana First.”

By Daakyehene Nana Yaw Asante