The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, has announced a ban on the use of V8 and V6 engine vehicles among government officials and politicians as part of remedial measures to control the country’s failing economy.
Presenting the 2023 budget on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, November 24, 2022, he said the ban takes effect from January 2023.
However, he noted an exception to cross-country travels where the officials may need the vehicles.
“A ban on the use of V8s/V6s or its equivalent except for cross-country travel” he stated while presenting the budget.
“Only essential official foreign travel across government including SOEs shall be
allowed. No official foreign travel shall be allowed for board members,” Mr Ken Ofori Atta added.
According to the Minister, while “government vehicles would be registered with GV green number plates from January 2023,” there would also be “limited budgetary allocation for the purchase of vehicles” going forward.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the purchase of new vehicles shall be restricted to locally assembled vehicles,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, fuel allocations to government appointees have been halved to reduce the expenditure of the government.
“All MDAs, MMDAs, and SOEs are directed to reduce fuel allocations to Political Appointees and heads of MDAs, MMDAs, and SOEs by 50%. This directive applies to all methods of fuel allocation including coupons, electronic cards, chit systems, and fuel depots. Accordingly, 50% of the previous year’s (2022) budget allocation for fuel shall be earmarked for official business pertaining to MDAs, MMDAs, and SOEs”.
