A total of 92 official vehicles being used by the Attorney-General's Office and Ministry of Justice nationwide have not been insured, the Chief Director, Suweibatu Adam, has revealed.
She told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament in Accra yesterday that the ministry did not have about GH¢200,000 needed to insure the fleet of cars, and was, therefore, waiting for support from the Ministry of finance.
She appeared before the committee to answer questions about an "avoidable judgment debt" of GH¢266,399 paid as compensation in respect of a road accident involving the Ministry's uninsured Nissan Patrol vehicle.
This was captured in the 2021 Auditor General's report on Ministries, Agencies and Departments under consideration by the PAC, which revealed that the Ministry does not insure its official vehicles.
It said the accident involving the Ministry's uninsured Nissan Patrol vehicle with registration Number GN 3118-10 occurred on September 8, 2013, resulting in the death of one person, with four other persons sustaining injuries.
"In the absence of insurance policy on the vehicle, the court ruled that the liabilities thereof were to be borne by the Ministry of Justice. We recommended that the Registrar and the Finance Director should take immediate steps to insure the Ministry's vehicles to avoid future liabilities," the report said.
Ms Adam said efforts to comply with the recommendation had been stalled by insufficient budgetary funds exacerbated by the fact that the ministry did not internally generate funds to address such needs.
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She said the Ministry of Finance had assured the ministry that quotations for the insurance of the vehicles, estimated to be about GH¢2, 000 would be received.
Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, conceded that the ministry had gone against the government's policy that all ministries must insure their vehicles.
He said although the ministry had not set a good example for the public, the citizenry should not do same.
Mr Tuah-Yeboah assured the committee that efforts would be made to insure all vehicles.
When asked if any of the ministry's drivers had been arrested by the police for driving uninsured vehicle, he answered in the negative.
The PAC Chairman, Dr James Klutse Avedzi, expressed surprise and disappointment that the ministry had not complied with the law when the committee had been referring other agencies to it for prosecution.
"So you have not insured any of your 92 vehicles, not even a single one? Not even the one the minister himself is using is insured?" he said, and advised the ministry to do the needful.
"We need to set good examples. Ghanaians are watching .They know that the ministry is not obeying the laws so why should they. Try to set a good example for the public," he said.
The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, said the issue of uninsured vehicles was a widespread problem with state institutions.
To cure the challenge of insufficient funds, he advocated a policy that would make the state insurance company, SIC Insurance Company Limited, to insure all state vehicles so they could be paid later.
