GRi in Parliament

GRi in Parliament Ghana 14 - 02 - 2001

Police are investigating stolen vehicles - Minister

Accra (Greater Accra) 14 Feb. 2001

Alhaji Malik Al-Hassan Yakubu, Minister of the Interior, on Tuesday told Parliament that the Police are investigating how alleged stolen government vehicles got into private warehouses.

He said that, on a tip-off, armed policemen visited the premises of Kamara Company Limited on the Spintex Road on January 30 and found 18 vehicles in their yard three of which were unregistered.

The minister was answering an urgent question, which stood in the name of Mr Benjamin Kunbour, NDC-Lawra-Nandom, who wanted to know from the minister the reason why heavily armed policemen visited the premises of Kamara Company Limited allegedly looking for stolen vehicles on the instructions of the Commissioner of Police/CID and who the complainant was.

Mr Kamara owns a construction firm and is the deputy national treasurer of the National Democratic Congress.

Alhaji Yakubu said the exercise was not politically motivated and that no one or any government agency had complained of missing vehicles.

He said the tip-off showed that three unregistered Niva vehicles of the NDC, which were allegedly given to them by the Electoral Commission to run their campaign, were being kept in the custody of Mr Kamara.

The minister said seven of the vehicles were registered in the name of Kamara Company Limited while two other vehicles were in the name of Japan Motors Limited.

Furthermore, two others, a Land Rover and a Defender, were found to have been transferred from Kamara Company Limited to Mabey and Johnson Limited on January 26.

Alhaji Yakubu explained that, on the same date, Kamara Company Limited transferred ownership of six of the vehicles to six different companies.

He said Mr Kamara could not give realistic explanation about the vehicles and claimed that a Nissan Patrol GT 6540C "belonged to Mr Steve Akorli, the Member of Parliament for Ho East and former Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways".

The minister said "Mr Baba Kamara maintained that the rest of the vehicles belonged to him, which he allegedly bought from Japan Motors Limited.

He was however unable to produce receipts to cover the payments he made to Japan

Motors in respect of the vehicles".

He said a search at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Division (VELD) of the Ministry of Transport and Communications confirmed that all the vehicles were registered in the name of Kamara Company Limited before the six were later transferred.

"However, there were no Customs, Excise and Preventive Service Entry Forms on the files to establish that appropriate duties had been paid on the vehicles either by the company or Japan Motors Limited."

Alhaji Yakubu stated that Police investigations are being directed to the Registrar-General's Department to trace the owners of the companies into whose name the six vehicles have been transferred for their version.

Mr Akorli is also being traced to explain himself in connection with the Nissan Patrol belonging to the Ministry of Roads and Highways parked in the yard, the minister added.

Mr Akorli, who was in the House, asked the minister whether he had gone to find out from the Ministry of Transport and Communications if the vehicle belonged to him or the ministry.

The Interior Minister replied that the Police were still investigating.

Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, NDC Upper West Akim, said if it turned out to be untrue, then the Minister of the Interior should come back to the House and apologise to the good people of Ghana.

To several supplementary questions from the floor, Alhaji Yakubu stressed that the Police were still investigating the issue and that the exercise was not an infringement on the rights of ownership of Mr Kamara.

GRi../

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