AMA in ‘missing’ car saga

A former broadcast journalist of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has accused the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) of carelessly allowing his car to go missing at its car park at the Rawlings Park within the metropolis.

According to the car owner, Amankwa Ampofo, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, the incident occurred in August 2016.

Mr. Ampofo said he had parked his car, a wine color Toyota Corolla S with registration number GW 3919 – X at the Rawlings Park and handed over its keys to an AMA official in charge of the park as he proceeded to undertake some private activities within the Central Business District.

He indicated upon his returned after an hour, the AMA official who had collected his car keys and who was looking after the car could not an account of its whereabouts.

The AMA staff was subsequently arrested, Mr. Ampofo narrated, and was granted bail the following day after an intervention by the Coordinating Director of the AMA, Ayeh Dartey and the Assembly’s lawyer.

Considering the negative image it would have created for the AMA, Mr. Ampofo said the Coordinating Director and the Lawyer for the Assembly pleaded with him not to take the matter to court but have it resolved amicably.

According to him, the Assembly after series of discussions with him, agreed to pay for the car which he said cost GH¢ 40,000, by paying him (Ampofo) GH¢ 10,000 on a weekly basis.

The Coordinating Director issued him the first cheque of GH¢ 10,000 which was known to the immediate past Mayor of Accra, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije.

But the cheque did not go through when he took it to the bank to cash it, so he returned it to the Coordinating Director.

According to him, after nearly three months, he was given another cheque of GH¢ 10,000 which he cashed successfully.

However, he lamented that the AMA had since last year August failed to pay the remaining GH¢ 30,000 as agreed, with the Coordinating Director giving him different excuses each time he goes to the Head Office of the Assembly to get the money.

Meanwhile, all efforts to get Mr. Dartey to respond to the issue were unsuccessful, as calls placed on his phone were not answered.