The new police vehicles
About 100 specialized vehicles with the emblem of the Ghana Police Service have landed at the Tema Port.
About 60 cars have already been parked at the Police headquarters for onward distribution to enhance police operations.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that the Toyota Corolla cars were part of the bullet-proof vehicles ordered by the former President John Mahama at the tail end of his administration on January 3, 2017 for use by the new Akufo-Addo administration.
However, the new administration renegotiated the deal and obtained additional 100 vehicles without paying extra money.
The Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery during the opening of the 2nd Crime Officers Conference at the Police Headquarters in July this year, announced that the police would be allocated about 100 additional vehicles.
Over 200 vehicles and motorbikes were last year allocated to the Ghana Police Service by government to resolve their logistical problems.
He said government had provided vehicles and other logistics to the Formed Police Unit to improve its operations.
Background
The acquisition of presidential fleet sparked heated political debate during the transition in early 2017.
However, the $9.1 million deal for the procurement of 43 special vehicles with communication squadron and ambulances was renegotiated by the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, and as a result the contract sum reduced to $8.8 million.
In the end, the NPP administration took delivery of 34 vehicles instead of the original 43, and the money that was to be paid on the nine outstanding vehicles was used to purchase 100 Toyota Corolla cars for the Ghana Police Service.
Former Information Minister Mustapha Hamid, at a news conference in February, this year, said that the government was bound by the terms of the contract signed with Amalgamated Securities Limited and added that abrogating the contract may incur significant liabilities for government.
He indicated that “in doing so, government has, however, made sure to obtain maximum gain for the public and also for ensuring the security of the state.
“In place of the nine, we have acquired 100 Toyota Corolla cars for use by the Police Service in line with our commitment to retooling the Police Service to enable it play effectively, its role of protecting the Ghanaian people. We have done all this with a total amount of $8.8 million,” he underscored.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)