Despite a document currently in circulation within the car retailing industry that suggests that government has initiated plans for the purchase of vehicles worth between $30 million and $100 million over the next three years for the Executive, the Minister of Information, Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, says that is not the case.
Explaining the issue in an interview with the Chronicle, Mr.Obetsebi-Lamptey said a number of professional bodies within the public sector, including the Ghana Medical Association, informed government of their desire to have government assistance in the acquisition of vehicles early this year.
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, who is also the immediate past Chief of Staff, said government recognized the need to provide various public institutions with vehicles and, as such, decided to conduct a needs survey of the various institutions and government agencies, including the ministries.
The needs survey was meant to research the availability of vehicles and their pricing to enable government acquire them at cheaper prices.
He said it was realized during the needs survey that some institutions needed strengthening.
For example, the police were identified as an institution that needed at least a 1,000 vehicles.
What his former office, therefore, did was to coordinate the needs of the various public institutions and departments and write to the car retailing agencies to find out
This was because the office felt that a centralized purchase system would offer government the opportunity to purchase the vehicles at cheaper prices, among others.
According to Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, the letters were written to solicit information on the availability of vehicles and to find out which options, lease or outright purchase, the government should take.
The letter, titled "RE: ACQUISITION OF GOVERNMENT VEHCLES," stated that "The Office of the Chief of Staff is presently exploring the options to buy or lease a number of vehicles for use by senior and junior government ministers, the Police and Prison Services, senior members of government and the Civil Service and other Government officers. "
It expressed government's preference for executive saloon cars, junior executive cars, mini-buses and 4x4 long distance vehicles, with options for leasing or purchase of up to US$30million toUS$100 million over the next three years.
But the Information Minister explained that the letter was only to solicit information to allow government to plan and that no definite position had been taken on the issue.
Government is, therefore, not going to buy vehicles as the content of the letter, which was sent out in August, might suggest, he said, noting that President Kufuor has always expressed the desire to equip the Police Service with vehicles first, before examining options for other public institutions.
This is what government is doing now, he stressed.
