The Chief Executive Officer of the Zongo Development Fund, Alhaji Halidu Haruna, has accused his predecessor, Dr Arafat Sulemana Abdullai, of failing to return an official vehicle as investigations into the fund’s finances continue.
Haruna said the vehicle, with registration number GR 7162, remains in the possession of the former CEO despite repeated efforts to retrieve it.
“As I speak to you now, there is a car… he has just decided not to return,” he told Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on April 2.
He added that investigations revealed irregularities in the vehicle’s ownership documentation.
“I detected that the car was not even in the name of the fund, even though it was the fund that acquired it,” Haruna explained.
Checks with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority showed the car was still registered under Toyota Ghana. Haruna said he wrote to Toyota Ghana, which confirmed ownership and subsequently transferred the vehicle to the fund—a process that should have been completed in 2022.
The matter has been reported to the police, and national security operatives are also investigating.
“I reported it to the police. The BNI is working on it,” he said.
Haruna also alleged that his predecessor failed to conduct a proper handover, complicating efforts to account for the fund’s assets and liabilities.
“The former team did not even have the courtesy to sit with me for a proper handing over, despite several efforts I made,” he said.
Since assuming office in September 2025, Haruna said he inherited a financially distressed institution.
“The fund was left with a debt of GH¢39 million and a balance of only GH¢221,” he stated.
The controversy arises amid a wider audit ordered by the Finance Ministry to verify liabilities and streamline operations at the fund.
The Zongo Development Fund, established under Act 964 in 2017, is mandated to improve living conditions in zongo communities across Ghana.
