Former Chair of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan bought a 2008 Nissan minibus belonging to the election management body for GHS2,675 in a 2013 auction of old vehicles of the state body, according to a 2015 report of the Auditor-General.
The car was purchased for the EC in 2007.
It was among several vehicles auctioned to staff of the EC and the public in 2013 after six years of use following their valuation by the State Transport Company (STC).
Current EC Chair Charlotte Osei told the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on Friday, 18 August that Dr Afari Gyan as well as all those who benefitted from the auction, paid for the vehicles.
Mrs Osei could, however, not readily tell the committee how much the EC paid the auctioneer for the auction.
According to Deputy EC Chair Amadu Sulley, the auction process was opened to all staff of the election management body as well as the public.
The EC had estimated the cost of the cars to be GHS402,328 but the actual amount realised after the auction was GHS83,000, a situation that caused the PAC to wonder why the huge “discrepancy”.
But the EC Chair explained to the committee that the fair value estimate of GHS402,328 was given by officials within the commission who were not experts at valuing vehicles.