Naagyei 90.3 Fm Agyapa
An Aide to former President John Mahama, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe insists that the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP) cannot defend the use of luxurious and expensive private jets by President Akufo Addo.
Some members of the NPP have justified the use of expensive private jets by current President Nana Akufo Addo which has been a subject of national discussion arguing that ex-President Mahama also flew private jets.
But Eduzdi Tamakloe in an interview on Ejura-based Naagyei FM Morning show on the subject told host Henry Lord that the NPP can not in any way justify President Akufo-Addo’s flying of luxurious private jets when the Presidential Jet can make those trips.
“Ex-President John Mahama while in office used British Airways or KLM which are not luxurious planes only when the Presidential Jet had gone for periodic maintenance at France where the jet was manufactured. This Scotland trip by ex-President Mahama that the NPP is talking about so much, was made at the time the Presidential jet had gone for maintenance. Even for that trip, then President Mahama chartered a smaller Embraer jet with the specs nowhere near the ones flown by President Akufo-Addo. The NPP should stop throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians. I can state categorically that there’s no justification for what President Akufo-Addo is doing.”
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has launched a crusade for a national policy on presidential travels following another allegation of a whopping Ghc3.46 million spent on a private jet by the President during his recent trips to England and Germany.
Ablakwa who is incensed by President Akufo-Addo’s continuous use of VIP charter jets for his European trips said such a policy is critical to avoid the wanton abuse of discretion by President Akufo-Addo at the expense of the suffering taxpayer.
The North Tongu MP revealed: “Using the conservative rate of US$14,000 per hour, the two trips to the UK and Germany which requires 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.”
This comes on the heels of the massive public outrage over the president’s decision to spend over 2.4 million Ghana cedis in May on private jets.
Ablakwa insists this episode of President Akufo-Addo’s alleged profligacy will surely be subjected to “surgical scrutiny” by the NDC caucus in Parliament when the august House resumes.
Source: Naagyeifmonline.com
