Health Ministry denies gov’t payment in controversial $34m ambulance deal to Service Ghana Auto Group
Health Minister Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye has dismissed claims that the Bank of Ghana made any payments in connection with a disputed $34 million deal involving Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for ambulance spare parts.
The allegations, brought forward by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, suggest that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and former Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu collaborated with the Service Ghana Auto Group Limited to defraud the state.
Mr. Ablakwa alleged that Ofori-Atta approved the deal just five days before leaving office, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the transaction. However, Dr. Okoe Boye clarified that no payments had been made by the central bank in relation to the deal, effectively challenging the narrative that the transaction had moved forward.
“I spoke to one of the Deputy Governors who I had a working relationship with when I was at Health Insurance and the Deputy Governor made me aware that not even a dollar has been given to the provider.
“She used some terms that it is actually a letter of credit and that it is when the provider has actually performed, and supplied parts to certain tunes that they are empowered to pay for the work done. And so the governor made me understand that they have it with them, but they have not paid.”
