PPP joins moves to probe Ford gift
The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has stated that the Ford Expedition vehicle gift by a Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe, to President John Mahama violates Article 284 of the 1992 Constitution.
Advertisement
It has, therefore, petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to order the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to ask the President to pay a gift tax on the vehicle.
According to the party, the gift is subject to the Gift Tax as per section 106 of the Internal Revenue Act, 2000 (Act 592) as amended and now repealed by the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896).
This was contained in a petition to the Commissioner of CHRAJ signed by the Policy Advisor of the PPP, Mr Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, and copied to the press.
The party is also seeking a declaration that the vehicle was a brand-new one at the time it was cleared from the port of Tema and that it was given with the intent to corrupt the President who received same knowing very well that its intended purpose.
The Youth League of the Convention People’s Party has petitioned the CHRAJ, seeking, among other things, a clarification on whether there was a conflict of interest over President Mahama's Ford Expedition gift.
The CHRAJ as an institution has also pledged to follow through the request to its logical conclusion.
Reliefs
It is further seeking a declaration that the said gift from Djibril Kanazoe to President Mahama, Ford Expedition 2010 model with engine No. E173A1905101 and Chassis No. 1FMJUIJ58AEB748, being a brand-new vehicle had its duty under-valued and/or under- declared by the officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division, on sole grounds that the beneficiary of same was the sitting President of the Republic of Ghana, which act was intended to cause the nation to lose money and indeed led to the loss of funds to the state.
Other Trending Stories
Another declaration being sought by the PPP is that Quedrago Cheik Mohammed, the alleged importer of the said Ford Expedition was an instrument of fraud in the hands of the sitting President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama.
Additionally, the PPP is asking for an order and/or recommendation directed against the GRA, Customs Division, to cease the vehicle, assess same and request the President to pay for its full duty and interest on the said amount from the date of clearing to the date of final payment.
Nature of injustice suffered by state
Among others, the PPP opined that the nation had suffered a violation of article 284 of the 1992 Constitution by its sitting President, whose Presidential oath requires him to protect and defend same.
Furthermore, it stated that the state had suffered an abuse of office of the Presidency by the President using the state’s material and human resources to transport his personal gift from Burkina Faso to Ghana.
It also argued that the state had lost tax revenue as a result of the President’s failure to pay gift tax on Ford Expedition with Engine No. E173A1905101 and Chassis No. 1FMJUIJ58AEB60748.
The state again, the PPP pointed out, had suffered a loss of revenue as a result of inadequate duty for the Ford Expedition with Engine No. E173A1905101 and Chassis No. 1FMJUIJ58AEB60748 declared as a used vehicle instead of a brand new vehicle and thereby paying under–declared duty.