A Toyota Land Cruiser belonging to the Ministry of Trade and Industry has mysteriously vanished into thin air without trace. The vehicle, with registration number GW 3505Y, is said to be one of the official traveling vehicles of the ministry, and was used by the Special Assistant to the Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, before it eventually went missing.
The Chronicle sources say the vehicle mysteriously vanished from the Ministry’s garage in June last year, barely a week after the ministry conducted an auction sale of some of its vehicles. Information gathered by The Chronicle indicates that a committee was grudgingly set up by the Ministry to investigate the matter, when it became obvious that the matter could not be easily swept under the carpet.
The committee, according The Chronicle sources, was headed by the Deputy Director of Administration, Mrs. Monica Asare.
Almost a year on, no concrete conclusion has been made on the matter, and the whereabouts of the four wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser is turning out to be yet another mystery to be resolved by the sector Minister, Haruna Iddrisu.
Issues concerning the missing vehicle sounded a taboo subject to the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Akrasi Sarpong, when The Chronicle called him for information on the outcome of investigations conducted by the Ministry into the matter.
“I don’t want to talk about this issue. I wasn’t part of the committee that was set up to do investigation on this issue… I can’t say anything about it,” he said.
The Chronicle suggested to him that as the mouthpiece of the Ministry, he could cross-check the facts from his bosses for the paper, but interestingly Mr. Sarpong’s blood went hot at this suggestion. “Please, please, don’t put words into my mouth. If a committee is set up and the person is not a member of that committee, how can you say you are the mouthpiece, then why did they set up the committee in the first place?” Mr. Akrasi retorted angrily over the phone.
He directed this reporter to call the Director of Administration to speak on the matter. When The Chronicle contacted Mr. Richard Gaisy, Director of Administration at the Trade Ministry, he confirmed the story of the missing vehicle, but would not give any details, unless he had been given clearance by the Chief Director. All he could mutter was that “the police are still investigating.”
He also directed this reporter to speak to the Chief Director on the matter. The Chief Director was said to have “stepped out” when this reporter got to his office. The Chief Driver at the Ministry, Mr. Derick Acolatse, under whose watch the car got missing, said he would not speak on the issue until he had clearance from the Director of Administration. He, in turn, directed this reporter to go back to Mr. Richard Gaisy for any information concerning the matter. Stay tuned!