We never inflated costs in ambulance deal – SGAGL clarifies

The Service Ghana Auto Group Limited (SGAGL) says it is untrue that the costs in its contract for after-sales service and maintenance of the 307 ambulances were inflated.

Responding to claims by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who alleged financial improprieties surrounding the procurement and maintenance of the ambulances, SGAGL in a statement disclosed that the allegations raised by the MP are baseless and unfounded.

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

SGAGL also addressed this point in their press release, stating, “the $34.9M of which Letters of Credit (LC) were established for $10M is falsely assigned to cover only mechanical parts, and the figure again was deceitfully allotted at about $113,000 worth of spare parts per ambulance.”

SGAGL in the statement said the initial competitive procurement process was initiated by the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives in November 2018. The process invited tenders for 275 units of 4×4 ambulances, later varied to 4×2 for 307 vehicles.

“A total of 16 companies participated, inclusive of the seven companies that eventually formed the Consortium during the pre-tender workshop round,” the statement detailed.

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 press release also emphasized the consortium’s compliance with all tender requirements, including obtaining manufacturer’s authorization from Mercedes Benz for the ambulances and EMSA AMBULANCES for the medical equipment installed in the vehicles. SGAGL further stated that they had established a dedicated workshop and support infrastructure, including the renovation of the Ministry of Agriculture’s workshop in Kumasi and a purpose-built workshop at the NAS headquarters in Accra.

SGAGL also addressed the findings of a 2022 Performance Audit by the Auditor-General, which had reportedly highlighted issues such as inflated invoices and mismanagement. The company acknowledged having significant disagreements with the audit report and stated that they had refunded amounts erroneously labeled as double payments.

SGAGL warned against the dissemination of false information in the procurement of the ambulances and its after-sales service, threatening to seek legal actions against persons who spread such false information.

“The Consortium and SGAGL have and will continue to act above board in their dealings,” the statement concluded, adding that they will hold accountable those responsible for spreading false allegations.