Reports suggest that the NPP government over the weekend received Thirty Four [34] Mahama luxury cars for the presidency, ten of which have bullet resistant exterior.
Sources say the cars arrived on a Global African Airlines cargo plane. The presidential fleet contract was awarded by the John Mahama administration barely a week before they left office.
The original number of cars ordered was Forty-Three [43]. The NPP administration, which had attempted to cancel the entire contract but failed due to certain clauses in the contract, managed to reduce the number to 34.
According to government sources, the reduction in the number of vehicles to 34, consequently reduced the initial cost of 9 million dollars by about 3 million dollars, as they have also avoided incurring a judgement debt, by deciding not to cancel the contract.
Background
In June 2017, some NDC officials accused the NPP administration of playing double-standards, after news broke about the presidential fleet, despite an order by President Nana Akufo-Addo, halting the purchase of new vehicles.
The NPP government then explained that it could not be blamed for the presidential fleet because the order had already been placed by former President John Dramani Mahama administration before they exited office after the elections in 2016.
Meanwhile, according to a former Presidential staffer Clement Apaak, the cars were ordered upon the request of the NPP government during the transition period, a claim that the NPP government vehemently denied.
Dr Apaak emphasized that the Mahama administration agreed to the request by Nana Akufo-Addo’s side of the transition team because they had raised concerns about the then incoming President’s security.
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primenewsghana.com/Ghana News
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