Presidential jet due for servicing in France
Ablakwa mocks jet's capability to reach France
The Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has mocked the announcement on Wednesday, May 25, that the Presidential jet is due for servicing in France.
The North Tongu MP made light of the oft-repeated official claim that the plane cannot be used for long haul flights, a justification for charter flights that the president has been using in the last few years.
"Ghana’s Presidential Jet cannot fly the President to France but it can be flown to France for servicing.
"Well, let’s fast and pray for the safety of our beloved Ghanaian pilots," Ablakwa said in a social media post on his official handles.
Nitiwul confirms jet needs servicing
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul disclosed in an interview that the jet needed to be serviced over a four-month period for which reason President Akufo-Addo would resort to commercial flights for his travels.
“By the end of this month, we will not have a presidential jet because the one we have is going to France for re-service; it’s one of the reasons the President will not use it for four to five months,” he said in the interview.
He reclarified the limited use of the jet by the president, stating thus: "we only advised the President not to use it for very long journeys but all the movements within Africa, all the short movements within West Africa, that’s the plane the President uses.”
Ablakwa's 'fight' against Akufo-Addo's luxury jet travels
Ablakwa has been championing a dogged reportage on the purported costs of presidential travels via private jet since last year.
According to him, Akufo-Addo opts for ultra-luxury charters despite the fact that there is a presidential jet that remains in pristine condition.
In one of his posts on the travels, Ablakwa disclosed thus: "President Akufo-Addo has for the umpteenth time ignored the precarious state of the Ghanaian economy and abandoned Ghana's US$36million Presidential Jet in favour of his most cherished ultra-luxury toy — the LX-DIO which now rents for US$18,000 an hour.
"It is clearly a helpless costly addiction which sadly, the Ghanaian taxpayer must pay for. The President's latest misconduct appears to be the most deceptive thus far."
Government has defended the private jet travels stating that the presidential jet was not suited for long-haul flights. Plans are also afoot to purchase a new presidential jet, the Presidency announced last year.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu