‘Bush’ And Self-Seeking Purchases

KB Asante does not agree with the selling of cars to public officers who use the vehicles in the performance of their official duties.

He prefers the public auction mode of disposing of vehicles replaces near arbitrary mode. We could not agree more with the retired diplomat who has described the method as 'bush.'

The non-auction mode has been in vogue for a long time and obviously abused in favour of those eager to own these vehicles by all means.

He made our day with his opinion which we think should form the basis of a national conversation on the subject.

It is important that we interrogate such issues so that the interests of the state are protected.

The state is highly vulnerable as those paid to protect her interests do not appear interested in doing their work the outcome, being what has prompted this commentary.

It would seem that other Ghanaians whose taxes were used to purchase these vehicles are not entitled to buy them when the time is due to dispose of them.

The state has lost millions of cedis to this crude means of disposing of government vehicles with the connivance of so-called technicians from the relevant authorities.

Sometimes the prices attached to vehicles being disposed of are so paltry that we wonder whether those involved really have the nation at heart.

While some of these vehicles are still serviceable, others just need a few part replacements and they can be used. Unfortunately, however, the pressure from those using them to board the vehicles is usually so intense that those responsible usually their subordinates succumb.

We have learnt rather regrettably that government appointees bought most of the vehicles now the subject of national controversy.

Indeed, it is this absurdity which prompted the retired diplomat to start a crucial discussion which has hardly ever cropped up for a public discourse, perhaps it does not inure to the interests of public officers.

We can conjecture just how technicians bent the rules and procedures in determining the prices of such vehicles. With their bosses breathing down their necks, there is no way these officers would be on the side of the state.

Corruption also has a hand in such matters. With a promise of something small, assessors would definitely give a price that would have the purchaser smile and the state kitty suffer a minus.

As a nation, we have ignored a lot of important matters, allowing them to go unchecked over the years.

With growth and fresh developments such as assets handover when new governments are taking over the mantle of authority, issues of propriety arise. That is our challenge today.

It is amazing that so many years after independence, we have still not streamlined the procedure in a manner that would ensure that the state does not suffer unduly when it comes to disposing of assets.

Accra residents would recall perhaps with nostalgia the days of the Omnibus Authority and how buses in the fleet of the state agency were declared unserviceable and sold out to a private person. No sooner than the transaction was completed than the buses were put on road with a changed brand.