All the Mitsubishi Gallopers that are lying waste at the Institute of Local Government in Accra will soon be auctioned following a decision by the government to do so.
The Gallopers numbering 86 are said to be deteriorating having been abandoned by successive governments for the past 17 years.
A deputy Minister of Finance, Kwaku Kwarteng, who revealed this to journalists on the sidelines of a Parliamentary sitting, Thursday, said the decision by the government to auction those vehicles was borne out of public perception over the use of state resources.
“We’ve gone to look at the vehicles. There were issues in court relating to those vehicles that I am sure in the past made it difficult for not just Customs but Government generally to proceed to dispose of those vehicles. A lot of those matters have been resolved now and given the rate at which those vehicles are deteriorating, we have made a decision to dispose of them. We are looking to do that before the year closes but I can confirm that the decision to dispose of those vehicles have been made and we will do so. All of us feel concerned that the mere presence of those vehicles suggest to task payers that their monies won’t be put to good use. We feel concerned about that and it is the reason we want to ensure that those vehicle are disposed of as soon as possible”, he noted.
According to the deputy Finance Minister, valuation on those vehicles have been concluded but was yet to know how much they will cost.
“Technically, duties on those vehicles have not been paid. It therefore means that we could come under the Customs Act and then dispose of it through auction as an overstayed vehicle. So, the important thing is that we will dispose of those vehicles and get as much value from them and we will do so”, he asserted.
The said vehicles were brought into the country by the Rawlings administration and they were to be used by District Chief Executives (DCEs).
However, they were abandoned because the then Kufuor-government refused to distribute them to the various assemblies citing the absence of a written contract in their purchase.
