[ 2017-02-10 ]

James Agyenim Boateng, former aide to Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur

Gov’t still holding my personal car – Agyenim-Boateng
James Agyenim-Boateng, a former Presidential
staffer who worked at the office of the then vice
president, says his personal car is still in the
custody of the national security, after it was
seized on Tuesday.

According to Mr. Agyenim-Boateng, even though he
explained to the national security personnel who
were at his residence that he had returned all
official vehicles assigned to him, the personnel
insisted on taking away his personal car which he
says he bought in 2012.

The confiscation of his car followed the setting
up of a government task-force on February 3, 2017,
to retrieve state assets unlawfully being held by
individuals.

Government has since claimed that, some 208 cars
cannot be accounted for; a claim the previous
administration has rejected.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr.
Agyenim-Boateng said “…what the problem is
that this State; the government of Ghana has been
keeping custody of my personal vehicle since
Tuesday. That is the issue in contention.”

“I am not sure at this point there is anybody
saying I am keeping state property or I am keeping
vehicles assigned to me whilst I was in office. I
haven’t been in office since the 7th of January
and I haven’t kept any such property.”

Legal action remains an open option for Mr.
Agyenim Boateng though he says he didn’t think
he was “ready for all the spectacle and
everything that comes with that [legal
action].”

Mr. Agyenim-Boateng narrated that: “It was
Tuesday morning when there was a bang on my gate
so I went out to check and it turns out the person
was from national security. So I opened and went
out and I saw two Toyota land cruisers. I
approached the vehicles and it had three soldiers
in uniform and a second vehicle which had been
parked some meters away.”

“… one of them said that they were from
national security and they were looking for
missing state vehicles. I said I don’t keep
missing vehicles. I don’t keep stolen
vehicles… I explained the issue; but it turned
out that it didn’t make any sense to them.”

“The vehicles I kept, two of them, were assigned
to me in the name of the office of the vice
president because you know that is where I
operated from. Those were returned to the same
office… as I speak, those vehicles have been
handed over. I don’t have them in my custody and
I don’t think there is a problem with that,”
he said.

It would be recalled that, before the task-force
was formed, the National Organizer of the National
Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Adams, also had
his five vehicles seized from his residence; but
were later returned to him.

‘We’ll resist attacks by Task-force on assets
recovery’ – NDC

The NDC has condemned the manner in which
government is carrying out the exercise, saying it
is an endorsement of thuggery.

Source - citifmonline.com

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