The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) formally wrote to the Ministry of Finance in 2021 seeking clearance for the purchase of several vehicles.
The September 2021 request was therefore transmitted barely a month after Kissi Agyebeng was sworn into office as the second occupant of the office. The letter addressed to the Minister of Finance is titled APPLICATION FOR COMMENCEMENT WARRANT.
It read in part: “The Office of the Special Prosecutor wishes to apply for Commencement Warrant for the purchase of the under-listed vehicles for the office.” It lists 4 types of armoured-plated vehicles and 12 types of soft/light[1]body vehicles.
The total amount of the vehicles requested came up to GH29,952,000. The total number of armoured cars was six, whiles the light-body cars added up to 38.
The most expensive of the consignment being the BMW 750 LI which was costed at over 1.6 million cedis with the Toyota Camry being the least priced at 330,000 cedis.
It is not known whether or not the entire request was okayed for purchase, neither is it known whether the list was compiled by the pioneer SP Martin Amidu or by his predecessor.
The OSP recently spoke extensively about challenges he faces in prosecuting his mandate, zooming in on the unfavourable court decisions. The Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government has been widely criticized for corrupt practices by top appointees and people close to the presidency.
Ghana has also fared poorly in annual anti-corruption rankings by Transparency International. Local anti-graft agencies have also decried the failure of Akufo-Addo to crack down on corrupt appointees.
See a list of the automobile request by the OSP
Source: Ghanaweb.com
