100 vehicles missing? ...Chief of Staff investigates

The Office of the Chief of Staff and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), are investigating the whereabouts of several vehicles that were supposed to have been imported on behalf of the office of the President early last year, The Evening News reports.

When a controversy broke out last year over allegations that the former government spent taxpayers' money to import pick-ups for use by the NDC in its political campaigns, the then Chief of Staff did publicly explain how they were distributed.

Already, the government with the assistance of the police have been making frantic efforts to trace several documented vehicles that are not traceable within the state/public pool.

"The Evening News" investigations has revealed that the office of the then Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie requested the importation of 100 four wheel drive pick-up trucks through an Accra-based private company Smice Limited.

A document to that effect requesting the Chief of Staff to arrange for tax exemption to enable the vehicles to be cleared from the Tema Port was signed by Alhaji Shehu Adam Wumbei, MD of the Company.

Subsequently, the Chief of Staff wrote to the Commissioner of Custom, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) authorising the exemption and this was duly granted.

The Chief of Staff, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey told the paper in an interview that he had no knowledge of the vehicles although they were brought in via the Office of the President.