Sale of saloon cars to ex-ministers legal - Chief of Staff

The decision to sell saloon vehicles as part of the resettlement package for ex-ministers and other political office holders was within the existing Greenstreet provisions, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Chief of Staff, office of the president, said on Friday.

However, government will scrutinise the present arrangement with the view to reconciling it with the previous process and correcting any wrongdoing, he said.

"Purchase of the vehicles by the ex-ministers is legal under the Greenstreet Convention. It will therefore be an undermining of the law to change the rules at this point," Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey told a press conference at the Castle.

"We will have to apply the due process of the law to check thoroughly what has been done. It is not our intention to commit any illegal act in these early stages," Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said.

He was addressing speculations that ex-ministers and appointees of the former government were transferring ownership of official vehicles to themselves.

The Chief of Staff said his office has been inundated with calls urging government to seize the cars because they are state properties.

He said stopping the sale or seizing the cars will be illegal because it was a convention adopted by the transitional team.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said the convention provides that outgoing ministers and other political appointees should purchase one of their existing official cars other than cross-country vehicles. But he quickly added: "whether the right procedures are being adhered to is a different matter all together".

He said after the completion of the process, himself and the former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie, will go through the records to settle any anomaly that would have occurred. He said the main areas of immediate concern will be how the valuations were made on the vehicles and by whom.

His outfit will also publish in the media names of all ex-officials who purchased the vehicles, with reference to age, registration numbers and how much was paid.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said so far his records indicated that a total of 153 vehicles have been purchased and re-licensed under the arrangement, which is still in progress.

He said his predecessor had informed him that 250 new cars were ordered in October last year. Out of this, 200 will be allocated to doctors while the remaining 50 are for government machinery. "The cars might have just arrived or are yet to arrive," he said to a question on their whereabouts. The Chief of Staff said the Convention allows the ex-ministers up to three months to leave state bungalows, adding that some of them have indicated that they would leave ahead of the stipulated time.