<<Print>>

President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday promised to rationalize the use of �free� government vehicle and fuel by public servants and government functionaries in the country. With the nation facing difficulty especially with the recent increment in petroleum products, many have advocated for the scraping off of free cars and fuel for government officials as well as other public servants. He said the government would discuss with auto companies a scheme to enable senior public servants to buy on hire purchase their own vehicles and curtail the reliance of the use of state vehicles. A member of the communications team of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Nartey George called on President Mahama to abolish free fuel for its functionaries and top public servants. According to him, such a bold decision will go a long way to ensure drastic reduction in government spending and ensure equitable distribution of the nation�s resources among Ghanaians. A taxi driver told 'The Finder' that it was unfortunate that those who were responsible for the fuel price increments were themselves paying nothing at all for the commodity and yet they consume more than the poor. Delivering his first State of the Nation�s Address in Parliament, President Mahama indicated that he has given �strict directives� to the Chief of Staff to that effect. �We are introducing measures to curtail government�s expenditure on fuel. We will rationalize the use of government vehicles and fuel in the next few weeks. I have given the Chief of Staff appropriate directives on this matter. We will discuss with auto companies a scheme to enable senior public servants to buy on high purchase their own vehicles and curtail the reliance on the use of state vehicles," Prez Mahama said. "We are also taking measures to curtail the MDA spending beyond their budgetary allocations. A new mechanisms of strict monitoring will be announced by the ministry of finance in the 2013 budget statement,� President Mahama indicated.