Ministry to probe misuse of information vans

Cape Coast, June 27, GNA - The Minister of Information, Mrs Zita Okaikoi on Friday announced that a team would be put in place to investigate the misuse of public address vans, belonging to the Information Services Department (ISD).

The Minister expressed concern that the vans were being used for personal gains instead of educating the public on government policies and urged staff of the ISD to desist from the practice. Mrs Okaikoi made the announcement when she visited Cape Coast to ascertain preparations for the visit of the US President, Mr Barrack Obama to the country on July 9.

She stressed that the funds generated from the hiring of the vans, should be able to meet half of the running cost of the regional and district offices.

Mrs Okaikoi said the vans purchased with the tax payers' money and should therefore be used properly.

She advised the staff to initiate programmes that would enable them to put the vans to maximum use, adding that government cannot be investing huge sums of money on the vans, while people use them for their personal gains.

The Central Regional Director of the ISD, Mr David Appiah-Twum told the Minister that there were serious problems with the carriers and tyres of the vans, thereby affecting their effective use. He said apart from the funds generated from the hiring of the vans by the district assemblies, the public do not patronise them due to complaints that that the rates were too high.