Spare Parts Scandal: Service Ghana Auto replies Ablakwa

Service Ghana Auto Group Limited (SGAGL), the private company at the heart of the latest exposé by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has responded to the allegation made by the MP.

SGAGL, in a statement sighted by GhanaWeb, refuted claims by the North Tongu legislator that there was some illegality in the payment of some $34.9 million to it by the government for the purchase and fitting of spare parts on some 307 government ambulances.

The company refuted the assertions by the MP that it was offered the contract by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo without competitive tendering – on a sole sourcing basis.

It explained that it was part of 16 companies who bid for the contract for the service in 2018 and was chosen to be part of a consortium of 7 companies that got the contract because they provided the required services at a relatively low price.

"SGAGL is an SPV of a consortium of seven companies that participated in a competitive procurement process, not sole-sourced, and was adjudged on merit to procure and provide after-sales service and maintenance for 307 Mercedes Benz Sprinter ambulances for the National Ambulance Service (NAS)."

“A total of 16 companies participated, including the seven companies that eventually formed the Consortium during the pre-tender workshop round. The companies that formed the consortium included Luxury World Auto Group Limited, Elok Consult, RDC Company Limited, Beft Engineering Works Limited, Prestige Era Company Limited, Bluemix Company Limited, and Quality Supply and Builders Company Limited," the statement read.

The company also rejected a claim by the MP that the payment of $34.9 million for the procurement of spare parts for the ambulances, which translates to about $113,000 per ambulance, was significantly higher than the cost of acquiring new ambulances.

It added that the allegation by Ablakwa that it received $10 million before the payment of the $34.9 million has been rejected by the Bank of Ghana.

"The $34.9M, of which Letters of Credit (LC) were established for $10M, is falsely assigned to cover only mechanical parts, and the figure was again deceitfully allotted at about $113,000 worth of spare parts per ambulance."

The company also stated that it has already dealt with the issues raised against it by the Office of the Auditor-General.

What Ablakwa said about Service Ghana Auto:

1. Lack of competitiveness in procurement process

Mr Ablakwa alluded to favouritism and lack of due diligence in the process that led to awarding the contract to Service Auto Group Limited, citing the absence of a competitive procurement process.

“Further parliamentary oversight reveals that Service Ghana Auto Group Limited was incorporated on April 24, 2020.

“Service Ghana Auto Group Limited was therefore incorporated more than a year after the 307 new ambulances were commissioned by President Akufo-Addo on January 28, 2019.

“Typical of how this incurably corrupt government operates, the company was handpicked without a competitive procurement process.

“Additionally, the Government appears not to have done much due diligence on the directors of the company,” he stated.

2. Previous payments to Service Ghana Auto Group Limited

According to Mr Ablakwa, the company, before the latest scandal, had already received GHS115,342,573 for servicing the ambulances between 2020 and 2023, bringing the total amount to GHS653 million, which he noted brings the total amount to more than double the cost of the ambulances.

“Deeper parliamentary oversight through GIFMIS assessments also confirms that even before this $34.9 million scandalous Ken Ofori-Atta/Agyeman-Manu send-off package, Service Ghana Auto Group Limited has received a colossal GHS115,342,573 in payments for shoddy servicing of the ambulances between 2020 and 2023.

“This means, so far, Service Ghana Auto Group Limited alone will be making a mind-boggling GHS653 million from these ambulances. This figure is more than double how much the ambulances cost us in 2019. (Prevailing exchange rate of $54 million, which was the cost of the 307 ambulances in 2019.),” he said.

3. Company indicted in Auditor-General’s special audit report on ambulances

Mr Ablakwa also cited an audit report by the Auditor-General on the 307 ambulances, which indicted the company for acts including inflating invoices and breaching maintenance schedules and procedures.

“What is even more depressing, the Auditor-General’s special audit titled — Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General on Fleet Management of the National Ambulance Service, which was published on May 25, 2022, had the following extremely damning conclusions about Service Ghana Auto Group Limited:

I) Service Ghana Auto Group Limited inflated invoices;

II) Service Ghana Auto Group Limited, in many instances, used staff of the National Ambulance Service for its maintenance even though all payments went to their company;

III) Service Ghana Auto Group Limited consistently breached maintenance schedules and procedures and

IV) The Service Ghana Auto Group Limited MoU with the National Ambulance Service did not inure to the benefit of the National Ambulance Service.

“How can any Government which claims to care about protecting the public purse be aware of this damning audit report and still proceed to award an even bigger contract of $34.9 million (GHS538 million) when Ghana did not get value for money after previously paying Service Ghana Auto Group Limited GHS115 million?

“It is also worth remembering that this is the same company which was exposed in a viral video a couple of years ago when an ambulance sent to them to be serviced was rather used to cart cement by their unscrupulous staff. (See attached the pathetic apology they issued at the time).

Read the full statement by the SGAGL below:



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