A price quotation from MAC Auto & Spare Parts Ghana Limited, located along the Spintex Road, in Accra, dated September 15, 2017, gives the price of a Chevrolet Spark Lite (Hatchback) Saloon car as GHC 39, 600. In dollar terms, a buyer will have to pay around $9,000.

But the government of Ghana in 2016, under the watch of former President John Dramani Mahama, committed the nation to the payment of over GHC60, 000 for the same vehicle in 2016 before leaving office. In dollar terms, the government agreed to pay over $16,000.

The contract, sealed in November, 2016 between the Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre, as the purchaser, and MAC Autos & Spare Parts Ghana Limited, as the supplier, was meant to provide 100 ‘Chevrolet Spark’ vehicles, as well as 150 ‘Chevrolet Aveo’ vehicles and 100 ‘Izusu buses’ for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union on hire purchase.

Even though the market price of the ‘Chevrolet Aveo’ was around $15,500 in September 2017, MASLOC, under the leadership of Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, felt it made more sense to commit the nation the-the payment of over $18,000 for the same vehicle in 2016.

Conservative analysis indicates that the nation may have been robbed of over $2 million as a result of this obvious corruption-ridden deal, inflated by almost 40%. This does not take into account the 100 3-seater Izusu buses, which were part of the 350 vehicles procured under the contract.

Information available to the Daily Statesman indicates that the suppliers, who are now chasing government for payment, are seeking to negotiate for a reduced price with the New Patriotic Party government, but the revised price on offer still remains far above the market value of the vehicles.

As it stands now, the 350 brand new vehicles are rotting, now left at the mercy of the weather, following the refusal of the GPRTU to buy them, in view of their exorbitant prices caused by the obvious inflation of the cost.

The Daily Statesman is also reliably informed that the authorities of the GPRTU want the government to bear half of the costs of the vehicles, to enable their members to acquire them on the agreed hire purchase.

This is the current state of affairs even though in the heat of the electioneering campaign in 2016 former President John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress government created the impression that the GPRTU had agreed to take the vehicles.

At a so-called presentation ceremony, Mr Mahama was quoted to have said: "The scheme is yet another novelty of this government that will afford members of the GPRTU the opportunity to acquire on hire purchase, buses and saloon cars to renew their fleet in a manner that will not put undue constraints on their capital and cash flow."

What this development means is that Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, the former Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, under whose watch the nation was committed to this obvious bad deal, may have a lot of questions to answer. More on this later.