Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has issued a terse warning that the Minority will not be intimidated and silenced over the scandalous ambulance spare parts deal involving Service Ghana Auto Group Limited (SGAGL).
The deal, worth $34.9 million has been linked to the president’s daughters and their partner and has come under intense scrutiny from various quarters after the Auditor-General reported $10 million of the amount has been paid though the company is not performing its service.
At a press conference to respond to a statement by SGAGL denying wrongdoing in the deal, Hon. Ablakwa who is also Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee, defiantly expressed his determination and that of the Minority to pursue accountability and transparency in the use of public funds.
He emphasised the constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight.
He said, “We take the view that those threats and attempts at intimidating members of parliament, the media, and the general public are aimed at preventing scrutiny.”
He condemned the use of threats and intimidation by SGAGL to cower MPs from demanding accountability.
“We want to serve very clear notice that the use of public funds for any national project will require greater scrutiny and accountability under the Ghanaian constitution.”
“As members of parliament, we are voted for to carry out parliamentary oversight, and in the pursuit of our constitutional mandate, we will not take threats from anybody,” he warned
According to the North Tongu MP, the staggering $108 million scandal linked to the ambulance deal under the Akufo-Addo administration is too huge not to demand accountability and transparency.
He underscored the colossal sums involved in procuring 307 ambulances, which cost the country $54.3 million and pointed to a performance audit conducted by the Auditor General in 2022, which flagged significant issues with the procurement process.
He said, “The procurement itself is problematic. Page 24 of the audit reveals that the unit price of an ambulance is $80,000, multiplied by 307 is less than $25 million. Yet, we paid $54.3 million for the 307 ambulances.”
Ablakwa added between 2020 and 2023, SGAGL was also paid GH¢115 million Ghana cedis in addition to the $54.3 million.
He stated that the procurement was grossly inflated and added, “If you put all the pieces together, we are talking about a $108 million scandal, “Just think about what $108 million can do to the health sector,” he added and described the scandal as unlike any other in the country’s history.