Danquah Institute founder, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has chastised those condemning President Nana Akufo-Addo for chartering flights for his international travels.
According to him, critics know the cost of everything but do not place value on them.
“Ghana’s president traveled to Germany for a week and returned with 1.5 million vaccines, among other investor-related items. But, of course, the focus of those who seasonally choose to know the cost of everything but the value of little, is on the cost of the flight chartered!” Mr Otchere-Darko tweeted.
Similarly, the majority caucus in parliament has been described as assumptive and populist, the figures put out by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as the cost of the president’s recent international trip to Germany and the UK.
According to Mr Ablakwa’s calculations, the trips cost the taxpayer GHS3.46 million because the president hired a VIP charter jet instead of using the presidential jet, Dassault Falcon 900-EXE.
It can be recalled that Mr Ablakwa alleged that president Akufo-Addo’s recent travels to the UK on 27 July 2021 to attend the Global Education Summit and last week’s state visit to Germany, saw him opt for another top-of-the-range VIP luxury charter jet called the Boeing 737-900ER BBJ3.
The lawmaker, in a statement, said the Boeing 737-900ER BBJ3, provides a VIP lounge for relaxation, five-star dining facilities, a royal master bedroom, cinema room specially delineated for watching movies, which is a separate accessory from other in-flight entertainment systems, and is complete with a luxury shower.
He said: “If our government is dealing directly with the operators of the LX-DIO then it is costing the Ghanaian taxpayer, at least, US$14,000 per hour. However, if our government is leasing the aircraft via brokers or middlemen, as it has gained notoriety for in many sectors, you shouldn’t be surprised the Ghanaian taxpayer is being billed between US$18,000 and US$22,000 per hour.”
“Using the conservative rate of US$14,000 per hour, the two trips to the UK and Germany which require some 28 hours of travel distance in and out plus an additional 13 hours of pick up and drop off time, the taxpayer has been burdened again to the colossal tune of US$574,000.00. At the current exchange rate, that is a staggering 3.46million Ghana cedis,” he added.
Mr Ablakwa noted that if the President has no use for Ghana’s presidential jet, he may as well sell it to raise some funds to buy COVID-19 vaccines.
He suggested that the country adopt a national presidential travel policy to cut down the cost on presidential travel.