Ranking Member of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Samuel Atta Mills, has sharply criticised the Ministry of Health over its handling of outstanding car loans estimated at about GH¢10 million, describing the arrangement as an organised scheme that requires immediate intervention.
Mr Atta Mills made the accusation on Thursday, October 8, 2026, when officials of the Ministry appeared before the Public Accounts Committee to answer questions concerning vehicles allocated to staff under the Ministry’s car revolving fund.
Recent information presented to the Committee indicates that 596 beneficiaries have defaulted on their obligations, leaving approximately GH¢10 million outstanding, while the Ministry has reportedly recovered only a fraction of the amount.
Mr Atta Mills questioned why individuals whose salaries allegedly did not qualify them for official vehicles were nevertheless able to obtain cars under the arrangement.
He argued that the system appeared to have allowed some beneficiaries considerable discretion over when and how they would settle their obligations, raising serious concerns about internal controls and accountability within the Ministry.
The Ranking Member also expressed concern about beneficiaries who have retired from public service or died without completely settling their loans.
He demanded detailed information on such cases and raised the possibility that vehicles connected to outstanding debts could still be in the possession of relatives or other persons.
Mr Atta Mills urged the Health Minister to take decisive measures to recover both vehicles and money owed to the state.
He was particularly critical of an explanation that the Ministry had submitted information on beneficiaries to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority.
According to him, responsibility for recovering vehicles issued under a Ministry administered programme should primarily rest with the institution that granted the vehicles rather than being transferred to another public agency.
He therefore proposed the creation of a dedicated recovery unit within the Ministry of Health whose specific responsibility would be to locate beneficiaries in default and retrieve vehicles where appropriate.
The Ranking Member called for a more forceful approach to recovering assets from beneficiaries who allegedly obtained vehicles without satisfying the relevant requirements or subsequently failed to honour their repayment obligations.
The confrontation has brought renewed attention to the management of government supported vehicle financing arrangements, particularly the effectiveness of internal controls, repayment mechanisms and asset recovery procedures.
The Ministry is now under pressure to demonstrate how the outstanding loans arose, why repayment mechanisms failed in several cases and what concrete measures will be taken to recover the public funds and vehicles involved.
