The President of the Association of Bullion Operators Ghana (ABOG), Alhaji Iddi Sumaila, has provided reassurance to the public that no soft-skinned vehicle will be used for transporting cash starting from July 1, 2023.
During an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Alhaji Sumaila stated that the association is committed to ensuring that all banks across the country utilize the available 150 bullion vans before the specified deadline.
This decision comes in response to the increasing incidents of armed robbery attacks on bullion vans in the country. The most recent attack occurred on Thursday when four armed robbers targeted a bullion van at Ablekuma, Accra, resulting in the death of the police escort.
“From 1st July, I can assure the general public that no soft-skinned vehicles will be seen on our roads. We have been using the soft-skinned awaiting the deadline. It is actually a programme we are looking at holistically. So no soft-skinned vehicles will be on our roads.”
He further explained that this plan had been in progress prior to the recent incident and that significant strides had been made to ensure its implementation.
The agreement with the Bank of Ghana and other stakeholders was to transition away from soft-skinned vehicles starting in July.
“That has been the plan, it is not because of this issue. Progress has been made and that was the agreement with the Bank of Ghana and all other stakeholders that from July we will have to transition.”
Alhaji Sumaila emphasized that they are collaborating with all stakeholders to expedite the deployment of armoured bullion vans in order to prevent the loss of lives, particularly among police escorts.
“By 1st of July [2023], we will see banks using armoured vehicles/bullion vans. However, other banks have not finalised the agreement with us. We have about 150 bullion vans in the country. Most banks have signed contracts with us to deploy to them,” he said.