…Unauthorized property sale for US$700,000,
…Bought US$100,000 official car for GH¢4,943
State security operatives yesterday stormed the Kumasi residence of former Managing Director of GIHOC Distilleries, Maxwell Kofi Jumah, in an attempt to arrest him in connection with alleged financial improprieties. However, he was not present at the time of the visit, but one of the company’s cars in his custody was towed to Accra.
Mr Jumah, who was appointed during the Akufo-Addo administration, is under investigation for various acts of financial mismanagement during his tenure at the state-owned enterprise. These include the questionable acquisition of state vehicles and the unauthorised disposal of a company asset valued at over US$700,000.
Documents reveal that, pursuant to the Managing Director’s Conditions of Service, the Board of Directors of GIHOC, by a letter dated 1 August 2019, approved the sale of a company vehicle—a 2018 Hyundai Genesis G90 saloon car with registration number GE 86 22-19—to Mr Jumah.
The company purchased the vehicle in 2019 and sold it to him two years later for a pitiful value.
Originally valued at over US$100,000, the luxury vehicle in the Hyundai saloon range was sold to Mr Jumah for just five per cent of its worth, amounting to GH¢4,943.11.
This transaction was confirmed in a letter dated 28 September 2021, signed by Apea Twumasi-Ankrah, Company Secretary and Head of Administration.
The letter, addressed to Mr Jumah, read in part: “RE: REVISION OF CONDITION OF SERVICE OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR” said Pursuant to the Condition of Service of the Managing Director, as agreed upon by the Board of Directors in a letter dated 1 August 2019 (paragraphs xii and xiii), you have opted to purchase the saloon car (Genesis G90) with Registration Number GE 86 22-19, in accordance with the law.
The five per cent (5%) value of the vehicle is Four Thousand, Nine Hundred and Forty-Three Ghana Cedis, Eleven Pesewas (GH¢4,943.11). Please kindly accept the above if you agree, by paying the stated amount to the company.”
A subsequent valuation conducted by the State Transport Corporation (STC) on 13 September 2021, confirmed that the vehicle, with a 3.3-litre engine, mileage of 38,971 kilometres, and a seating capacity of five, was in “good condition”.
The new assessment, signed by valuation officer Daniel K. Orhin (Certification No. 0014073), estimated the vehicle’s market value at GH¢98,862.00.
Interestingly, Mr Jumah himself wrote to the Managing Director of the State Transport Corporation requesting the valuation.
His letter read:“Dear Sir, VALUATION OF VEHICLEPlease, I write to seek your service to conduct a valuation on vehicle with registration number GE 8622-19, make: Genesis G90 Saloon.”
The next day, 14 September 2021, STC, through its Head of Valuation, K. Asare Ayeh, responded to GIHOC’s Managing Director with the completed valuation report.
In addition, Mr Jumah is accused of leaving office without the board’s approval while retaining two official vehicles, including an Audi reportedly valued at over US$60,000.
Although he is said to have instructed security personnel to return the vehicles, citing his son’s use of one, only one has so far been retrieved and transported to Accra. Plans are reportedly underway to recover the Hyundai Genesis as well.
Further allegations point to widespread abuse of office during Mr Jumah’s leadership. Sources indicate that he significantly bloated the company’s workforce, exacerbating its financial distress.
He is also accused of overseeing the unauthorised sale of GIHOC-owned properties in Tema, with an estimated value exceeding US$700,000.
These revelations come amid intensified efforts by authorities to investigate and hold accountable former public officials implicated in financial misconduct.
The ongoing probe into Mr Jumah’s tenure forms part of the Mahama government’s broader initiative to address legacy issues of corruption and mismanagement within state institutions.