The Executive Director of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), has condemned the practice of redistributing confiscated vehicles at giveaway prices due to inability of owners to pay the required import duties.

According to Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, such practice is an insult to the owners of the vehicle.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Dr H. Kwasi Prempeh noted that it defies social justice.

“To me, this auction of vehicles is more of a way you insult and abuse Ghanaians in the Diaspora. People go abroad, work hard and really suffer through a lot of sometimes indignity to bring these things home and then somebody sits here says you can’t pay the duty and therefore its been taken and allocated …it's an insult,” he said.

This is in the wake of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) ordering the Commissioner of Customs Division to discontinue all auction sales immediately. 

The order is until an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in auction activities at the Customs Division is completed.

“The Special Prosecutor further directed the Commissioner of the Customs Division to immediately halt and discontinue all auction sales until the investigation is concluded,” the OSP said in a press statement issued on Monday, August 22.

Recounting his experience with auctioned vehicles, Prof. Prempeh said he declined an offer from a friend when he decided to relocate to Ghana from abroad.

“I am a returnee. I became aware of the persistence of this practice in 2015 when I was coming back for good and a friend asked me are you shipping a car? And I said yes. He said oh I can get you an auctioned vehicle. I said does this practice still exist? So I declined the offer,” he narrated.

For this reason, he expressed excitement that the Office of the Special Prosecutor has taken an interest in the practice and urged him to pursue it.