'No helicopter missing; go to air force base'- Kwabena Donkor tells gov't

Former Power minister Kwabena Donkor has rubbished reports that some helicopters belonging to the Ghana Gas company have gone missing.

He says the choppers costing $150m are "securely parked in the hangars of the Ghana Airforce at the Air force base in Accra".

It was a leading member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee Dr. Steve Manteaw who went public with the claim that the three choppers could not be traced.

According to him, the management of Ghana Gas at Atuabo in the Western Region expressed surprise about the purchase of the helicopters especially as there is no helipad there.

There were suggestions, they may not have been delivered by the supplier after payment or that they are missing.

The claim was corroborated by the Monitoring and Evaluation minister Dr. Akoto Osei who also claimed the helicopters were over-priced.

But the former Power minister says it is a sign of substandard leadership for Dr Akoto Osei to go public on the whereabouts of the helicopters when he could have found out from officials of the former government.

"It is a clear demonstration of the substandard nature of this NPP government that they declare missing 4 helicopters," he said.

Dr Donkor also confirmed the choppers were bought with a Chinese loan and will be used by Ghana Gas Company to help secure the company's installations and respond to emergencies.

The choppers were also to "provide surveillance services and also to conduct medical evacuation and search and rescue operations in the event of any accident in the oil and gas sector".

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah|[email protected]