In the quest to accomplish its insatiable ostentatious lifestyle on the back of the poor Ghanaian taxpayer, the Kufuor-led past government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), within five years blew a whooping ¢260 billion (old cedis) on the purchase of luxurious cars alone.

The Catalyst investigation has found out that for the period of just five years, that is, between 2003 and 2008, the NPP government under the leadership of former President John Agyekum Kufour, spent the colossal amount on purchasing cars for the comfort of the then President, government appointees and functionaries and NPP party apparatchiks while the poor taxpayers were continually asked to tighten their belt.

This was disclosed to The Catalyst by the Chairman of the Executive Assets Transfer Committee of the Transitional Team, Dr. Don Arthur, in an exclusive interview in his office at the Castle recently. He mentioned that no serious government would overlook such action by its predecessor who spent so much money and resources on purchasing cars alone in five years.

Most of these cars, according to him, are still in the possession of former NPP government officials and party functionaries, who have flouted the directive given by the new government to them to handover the cars, which remain the property of the state, for the smooth running of government.

As if the huge sums of monies used in purchasing the cars were not drawn from the nation’s coffers and thereby bothering on the economy, the opposition NPP has been trumpeting that the NDC government is focussing too much attention on ‘chasing cars’ from them rather than focussing its attention on the “core issues” of governance, especially the economy.

But Dr. Don Arthur disagreed with this assertion. He noted that spending an amount of ¢260 billion to buy cars in just three years, most of which cannot even be traced, is something that is of equal importance to the government and the people of Ghana. According to him, no serious government would sit idly by and watch monies that the citizens toiled for, go down the drain in such a careless manner.

He indicated that the monies used to purchase the cars were taxpayers’ monies and thus it is in the right direction that the NDC government is seeking accountability for every pesewa spent under the previous NPP regime, including what was spent on car purchases, and also trying to know the whereabouts of most of the cars.

According to Dr. Don Arthur, the NDC government is not in any way engaging in even a shred of political vendetta or witch-hunting against any past government official, stressing that the government is committed to fulfilling the promise it made to the people of Ghana regarding accountability from public office holders.

Since the government ultimatum to the former a NPP government appointees to bring back the ‘stolen’ cars, some have done so. Among these were Nana Akufo-Addo, NPP flag bearer in the 2008 elections who had kept three 4 X 4 vehicles for use over a year after resigning from the government to pursue his presidential ambition. Others include the Minority Leader in Parliament, Hon Ose Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Former Minister of Water Resources and Housing, Alhaji Boniface Abubakar, former Presidential Press Secretary, Andrew Awuni, former Presidential Spokesperson, Kwabena Agyapong, NPP MP for Dome Kwabenya, Hon Mike Ocquye and others.

Dr Don Arthur reiterated that the security apparatus would be dispatched to take back the remaining cars from those former NPP government officials and party functionaries who are proving stubborn and are still illegally keeping the state cars.

In stating the number of cars retrieved from the past government officials as at the time of this interview, Dr Arthur said that government has so far collected 62 state vehicles from Mr Kufour’s men and women, averring that 22 of them were returned immediately government gave the directive to that effect. Source: The Catalyst