Minister's Luxury BMW impounded by Castle

BMW saloon car cost a total amount (Price + VAT) = $166,000

Information picked by the Republic newspaper reveals how the President, John Evans Atta Mills cracked the whip on Minister Joe Gidisu, Minister for Road and Highways and Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Tongu constituency to disrupt the Minister’s fast growing taste for luxuries.

The revelation, the Republic learnt, has become the latest gossip in parliament and has made the minister a laughing stock among his colleagues even as he schemes to regain the confidence of the president.

Barely three weeks ago, a brand new BMW saloon car, 740LI-2010 model was pulled out from Hon. Joe Gidisu’s residence by Security agents to a destination in the castle under the orders of the president.

The splashy top of the class BMW, with Imperial Blue color manufactured in 2010 landed in Ghana on January 19 2011 and cleared by Mechanical Lloyd Co Ltd according to documents sighted by The Republic.

The car in question was even more expensive than the Presidents official car.

Investigations by the Republic revealed that the posh saloon car was purchased under the orders of the Minister of Roads and Highways, Hon Joe Gidisu for his own comfort in an apparent disregard to President Mills’ austerity principles.

President Mills is Known and revered for his modesty and anti-profligacy. According to deep-throat source at the Ministry, Hon. Joe Gidisu took advantage of a governmental convention which requires ministries to provide vehicles for the use of their Ministers and instructed the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) an agency under his ministry to acquire the classy machine.

A letter dated 2nd August 2011 States “subsequent to the decision for the Ministries to provide for the use of their Ministers, the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) was requested to arrange and purchase a saloon car on one of their ongoing road Construction projects”.

The letter signed by Minister Joe Gidisu and which was alleged to have been forged continued; “the Ghana Highways Authority by a letter dated 19th May 2010 requested the Resident Engineer on the Achimota-Ofankor road project to arrange for the purchase. However, I found the type of vehicle purchased not very appropriate for my use” stated the minister, in an attempt to cover his embarrassing ass.

Sources said that it was when the Minister got reprimanded by the President for his untenable behavior that he ran to write the letter.

Available documents indicates that the vehicle was purchased by the contractor working on the Achimota-Ofankor project, China Railway Wuju (Group) corporation on behalf of the Ghana Highways Authority by the whims and fancies of the Hon Minister of roads and highways.

The BMW saloon car cost a total amount of $166.978.47 with a one year comprehensive insurance at an extra rate of $6,672.71 and to be borne by the state for the leisure of Joe Gidisu.

It is alleged that when the NDC came to power, after it defeated the corrupt NPP government, there was pressure on Minister Joe Gidisu to review the contract which was entered into by the previews government with the Chinese company following suspicion that there may have been exaggeration in the contract sum. Joe Gidisu, according to our deep-throat source, however ignored suggestions in this direction and rather chose t oseek his own comfort at the expense of Ghanaians.

The deal which was facilitated through the Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited an Accra based automobile company has according to sources been confiscated by the National Security Apparatus and now taking solace within the confines of the castle, the seat of government.

In a document sighted by the Republic addressed to the Engineer’s representative by the Deputy Project Manager of AO Road Project, Zou Man Yang the contractor claim the total amount of $166.978.47 (One Hundred and Sixty Six Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy Eight U.S Dollar and Forty seven Cent) to be paid back in the our IPC from items A221.1 and A221.2 of Box in the contract. Copies of official receipts on the alleged deal involving the Minister of Roads and Highways Hon. Joe Gidisu through his agent at Mechanical Lloyd and later insured at the Phoenix Insurance Company Ltd for a year gave the following specifications on the BMW 740Li as follows;