The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has raised concerns about the qualifications of Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for the ambulance servicing contract.
During an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, July 22, Mr Ablakwa stated that the company was "handpicked without a competitive procurement process."
He revealed that Service Ghana Auto was also incorporated on April 24, 2020, over a year after the 307 new ambulances were commissioned by President Akufo-Addo on January 28, 2019.
Mr Ablakwa cited findings from the Auditor-General’s special audit report, titled "Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General on Fleet Management of the National Ambulance Service," published on May 25, 2022.
The report made several damning conclusions about Service Ghana Auto Group Limited:
- The company inflated invoices.
- It used staff of the National Ambulance Service for maintenance tasks, although payments were made to the company.
- It consistently breached maintenance schedules and procedures.
- The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Ambulance Service did not benefit the service.
Given these revelations, Ablakwa argued that the contract should have been terminated and a more qualified auto servicing company should have been sought, stressing that a competitive process would have excluded Service Ghana Auto Group from the contract.
Mr Ablakwa questioned the government's decision to award an even larger contract worth $34.9 million (GHS538 million) to Service Ghana Auto Group, despite the damning audit report and previous payments of GHS115 million that did not deliver value for money.
He also recalled a viral video showing an ambulance being used to transport cement by unscrupulous staff of the company, further highlighting issues with their services.
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