The New Ghana Social Justice Forum, a prominent Civil Society Organization, has issued an urgent directive calling for the immediate grounding of all government vehicles within Ghana and heightened vigilance at the country’s borders.

The group has also appealed to neighbouring countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Togo, to seize and secure any government vehicles attempting to cross their borders.

In an emergency letter addressed to the Interior Ministers of the aforementioned nations and public institutions in Ghana, the organization expressed concerns over potential theft and illicit transfer of state assets, particularly government vehicles, amid Ghana’s ongoing political transition.

The New Ghana emphasized the importance of securing state resources during this critical period to prevent unscrupulous public officials from smuggling state property into neighbouring countries.

“We are at a key moment for a change of power on the horizon.

It’s not uncommon for public officials to take advantage of the situation to steal state properties, particularly vehicles, and take them across the borders into neighbouring countries,” the statement read.

The group has called on Ghanaian citizens and local security agencies to remain alert to potential attempts to misappropriate state assets.

They also warned neighbouring countries that failure to intercept stolen government vehicles could result in legal action at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court.

“The ECOWAS Charter provides that states must make it a criminal offence to transfer assets that are the proceeds of crime or to conceal the true nature of those assets,” The New Ghana highlighted.

The Civil Society Organization revealed that it is compiling data on all public properties across various state institutions and promised to impose severe consequences on officials found diverting state property.

“We will maintain intense surveillance internally and at the borders.

Any attempt to divert property will land the said officials in serious consequences,” Yahaya Alhassan, President of The New Ghana, stated in the letter.