• Kwakye Ofosu has described the move as a waste of state resources
• He said Akufo-Addo could have used the country's presidential flight
Former Deputy Communications Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has asserted that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo spending £345,000, equivalent to GH¢2,828,432.80 on Airbus ACJ320neo for a 9-day trip is a waste of state resources.
According to him, Akufo-Addo could have used the presidential jet instead of spending lavishly on the private jet.
He furthered that President Akufo-Addo could have also opted for commercial jets which comes at a low cost if he didn't want to use the presidential jet.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana show monitored by GhanaWeb, the failed National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary aspirant said, “These days the aviation industry is so transparent that if you boarded an aircraft from Accra, once you take off, you can be tracked wherever you are going so there is no secret.
"If you track the president’s movement, he traveled for a total of 23 hours. The total amount comes to 2.8 million just for travelling time. That is an unacceptable waste of state resources because the president could have used the presidential jet.
“The president could have flown the presidential jet from Accra to Paris…If he thought that he needed a direct flight from France to South Africa, he could have gone commercial and it would have been far less expensive,” he added.
He explained that in the face of economic hardship, Ghanaians could have heaved a sigh of relief if the President didn’t spend so much on his air travel.
“The reason why that is necessary is that he leads a country that is in severe economic crisis. You cannot ask people to pay such draconian taxes and spend it so lavishly,” Kwakye Ofosu stated.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had in a Facebook post stated that, “per Flightradar24, the G-KELT aircraft left Accra with the President to Paris on the 16th of May — a 6 and half hour duration. Airlifted the President from Paris to Johannesburg for 11 hours on the 23rd of May.
“Then Johannesburg to Accra on the 25th of May was a five and half hour flight. This gives us accumulated flight travel of 23 hours; so, at £15,000 an hour, it thus cost us a colossal £345,000. At the current exchange, that is a staggering GH¢2,828,432.80."
He noted that aviation experts informed him that, it would have cost Ghana less than 15% of this 2.8million Ghana Cedis if President Akufo-Addo had opted for Ghana’s presidential jet.
