Service Ghana Auto Group Limited (SGAGL) has strongly refuted allegations about its after-sales service and maintenance contract for 307 ambulances, describing the claims as “utterly false.”
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on Monday, July 22 accused the former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and the former Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu of conniving with a private entity to rip off the state.
He raised serious concerns about the company’s practices and the legitimacy of the contracts it received.
The North Tongu MP revealed that, Service Ghana Auto was incorporated on April 24, 2020, over a year after the 307 new ambulances were commissioned by President Akufo-Addo on January 28, 2019.
He highlighted that the company was unregistered when it began maintaining ambulances in January 2020 and only officially registered in April 2020, yet it operated without a formal contract for eight months while still receiving payments.
In response to the allegations, SGAGL in a statement on August 1, stated that the company was formed by a consortium of seven companies and secured the contract through a competitive procurement process initiated by the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives.
SGAGL emphasized that the consortium, which includes Luxury World Auto Group Limited, Elok Consult, and others, adhered to all legal requirements during the procurement and subsequent contract execution.
It said the bid price per ambulance was significantly lower than those of competitors, including Silver Star Auto Limited.
“The Consortium companies incorporated the SPV (ie. Service Ghana Auto Group Limited) on 24h April 2020 with primary objects for the sale of automotive and vehicle parts to fulfil the contract’s stipulations. Herein lies the utterly false claim that SGAGL was awarded a contract prior to its incorporation, when the verifiable fact is rather that the initial contract of December 2019 was to the constituent companies of the Consortium.”
The company also detailed its extensive after-sales support, including a budget for spare parts and a network of workshops across Ghana.
SGAGL addressed concerns about the funding and logistics of the project, stating that a $10 million Letter of Credit was established and that they had to secure loans to meet contractual obligations.
“In respect of the 2022 Performance Audit, SOAGL had significant disagreements with the Auditor-General’s Report which it did not have the chance to contribute any responses by way of the Management Letter. Nonetheless, SGAGL has since refunded the amounts wrongly labelled as double payments to salaried staff of NAS, when these were in the nature of ADHA for hardworking personnel. SGAGL deploys its teams in a fashion consistent with the plan to train and transfer knowledge to the staff of the NAS serving fleet separate from the 307.
“It needs emphasizing that the Ministry of Finance established a $10 million LC, not direct payment as falsely alleged, and that bank loans have had to be procured to finance key obligations under the contract.”
The company also rejected allegations of improper associations and financial mismanagement, asserting their commitment to transparency and integrity.
“Except that Stephen Okoro is a director of one of the 7 companies, a fact available to the public at the Registrar of Companies, the Consortium, its constituent companies or the SGAGL do not have the associations falsely alleged, neither have they engaged in any wrongdoing.”
SGAGL further reaffirmed the company’s dedication to fulfilling its contract and maintaining the ambulances’ operational readiness, emphasizing their compliance with all legal and ethical standards.
Below is the full statementÂ