Public urged to report missing government vehicles

Mr. David Yaro, the Administrator-General, has urged Ghanaians to be bold and patriotic and report individuals and personalities unauthorised to possess government vehicles to the ministries concerned for prompt action.

He said government vehicles belonging to any ministry had been provided with special codes on top of the number plates, therefore the sector ministry could easily trace them should the public offer information about their whereabouts.

The advice comes following recent media reports that some government vehicles had been found with unauthorised persons in parts of the country.

Speaking with the Ghana News Agency in an interview, in Accra, Mr. Yaro tasked the would-be Ministers to critically scrutinise their predecessors’ handing-over notes to protect State assets.

He said should they find any State asset unaccountable for or missing, their predecessors should be held accountable.

Mr Yaro explained that all the ministers under President Mahama’s administration were made to individually sign their handing-over notes, while their chief directors, who were the reporting officers, served as witnesses.

Speaking on measures the Office had undertaken to guide the new ministers to settle down, the Administrator-General stated that it had incorporated the activities the new Ministers would perform in the first 30 days, 60 and 90 days on assumption of office, adding that although they can introduce their own novelties and approaches to guide them.

The handing-over notes covered assets and liabilities, including human resource, bungalows and other buildings, vehicles, technological and logistical assets, contractual agreements, projects, programmes and the bills being drafted to become laws, he stated.

He lamented that due to logistical, financial and human resource constraints, his outfit could not cross-check every information provided in the handing-over notes, but was relying on the integrity of the stakeholders.

Mr. Yakubu Atchulo, the Director in-charge of Administration at the Administrator-General’s Office, said it would seek financial clearance next year to recruit more personnel and acquire logistics that would enable it to undertake its mandate effectively and efficiently.

He said should the Office receive sufficient financial and logistical resources, it would enhance assets management and improve smooth future transfer of political power in the country.

“If we get additional resources we can move into other areas and even get a software which we can easily interface with all other government institutions in order to take inventory of state assets since every now and then new assets are being acquired,’’ he pointed out.

Until January this year, the Office lacked vehicles and the few workers there had to rely on commercial motor bikes (Okada) to do administrative errands.

The Presidential (Transition) Act, 845, promulgated in 2012, mandates the Administrator General to take inventory of State assets and liabilities and hand them over to the Office of the President.

It also establishes arrangements for political transfer of administration from an outgoing democratically-elected president and provides for other related matters.