Defence Minister maintains Ghana does not have presidential jet
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa criticizes President Akufo-Addo on luxurious foreign travel expenses
Minority MPs yet to agree on purchase of new presidential jet
Minister of Defence, Dominic Ntiwul, has justified the need for the country to purchase a presidential jet to be used solely by presidents of the country.
The Communications Director at the office of the president, Eugene Arhin, at a media engagement in September, announced that government had triggered processes to purchase a bigger presidential jet.
This is after North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had continuously been on the heels of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the latter’s hiring of luxurious private jets for his foreign travels.
But responding to the North Tongu Legislator’s concerns on the floor of Parliament, Dominic Ntiwul indicated that the country cannot continuously rely on military aircraft in ferrying government officials in the absence of a presidential jet.
“Mr. Speaker, I want to confirm from all us that the indication I get from all the consultation is that it is paramount especially because we do not have Ghana Airways. It is paramount to have an aircraft that can do government business. Mr. Speaker, the log book of Castle 295 which is a pure military aircraft is soo full that it is not safe to continue to rely on the military to be using a pure military aircraft to be ferrying government officials. And government officials include members of parliament,” he posited.
Dominic Ntiwul also denounced assertions by the North Tongu MP that the country had a presidential jet.
According to him, the country does not have a presidential jet but rather has an executive jet which could be used by all government officials.
“When you say presidential jet, Mr. Speaker, I have said it and I will continue to say that the is nothing called presidential jet. There are only two countries in the world that have presidential jet… one is the United States of America…only the president uses that jet,” he said.
Ghana doesn’t have presidential jet. What we have is an executive jet that’s why when you [Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa] were reading, the current president [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo] at the time use the term executive jet. Executive jet does not mean it is for the sole use of the president. In America nobody can use Air Force 1 apart from the president and the vice. Even with the vice doesn’t use, it is the president who uses Airforce 1. So we have an executive jet and I’m saying to you that executive jet is used to do government business,” Dominic Ntiwul added.
However, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, responding to the statement by the Defence Minister, maintained that the country has had a total of five (5) presidential jets since the era of the country’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Meanwhile, the Defence minister has indicated that the president, Nana Akufo-Addo, will not get to fly in the new presidential jet yet to be bought as it will take 3 years for the aircraft to be manufactured by the suppliers.
This he says are information gathered from airplane manufacturing giants, Airbus and Boeing.