African Presidents are rushing for Ghana’s presidential jet but Akufo-Addo continues Arabian-king-style trips — Ablakwa

The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu in the Volta Region, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has alleged that while President Akufo-Addo continues on his 'Arabian-king-style trips', there are more Africa presidents queuing to use Ghana’s Presidential Jet.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP in the last couple of months has been commended for taking an interest in the presidential travels of the President that is said to be contesting the taxpayer millions of Ghana cedis.

On the back of President Akufo-Addo’s trip to Serbia, Okudzeto Ablakwa has come out with another piece to kick against what he has always described as the luxurious travels of President Akufo-Addo.

According to the North Tongu MP, the latest trip to Serbia cost the taxpayer nothing less than US$588,000 which translates to a scary GHS3.5million.

Lamenting the cost of the trip, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stresses that President Akufo-Addo is going on all these expensive trips while neglecting the country’s presidential jet which is now the preference of many other African presidents.

“Meanwhile, more African Presidents are queuing to use our Presidential Jet even though government propagandists who seem to have little regard for the intelligence of Ghanaians claim our Falcon is unsafe and uncomfortable to use,” a post on the Facebook of the MP has said.

Mr. Ablakwa in an assurance to the general public notes that when Parliament resumes, ‘every one of these Arabian-king-style trips and every single minute of flight time plus every associated incidental cost at the taxpayer’s expense shall be accounted for to the People’s Representatives.’

Read the full post on Okudzeto Ablakwa’s Facebook page below:

Keep your Falcon and buy me a new bigger more luxurious Presidential Jet or I will continue to charter in vulgar opulence the Boeing 737-97Y(ER)(BBJ3) registered LX-DIO at US$14,000 an hour, no matter how loud your resistance.

That is the clear message from President Akufo-Addo to outraged Ghanaians as he continues to contemptuously defy public outcry by his continuous stiff-necked lease of the now famous distinctively blue and white ultra-luxury executive jet.

The Serbian Foreign Ministry has obviously created credibility crisis for government propagandists who had been claiming I was making up stories considering that the Serbs have put out official photographs of President Akufo-Addo disembarking from the LX-DIO as he arrived in Belgrade on Sunday to attend the 60th anniversary of the Non Aligned Movement.

The skeptics can now appreciate why even though dishonest elements at the Presidency have sought to deny the Presidents use of the ostentatious bird, they have been unable to inform Ghanaians which specific aircraft the President used for the travels in issue. That it has to take another government to further expose the Akufo-Addo administration albeit inadvertently reveals just how scarce commodities such as transparency, accountability and respect for the citizenry have become under a leader who hitherto touted his self-professed good governance credentials.

May I state for the record that despite government's shenanigans and attempts at obfuscation, our comprehensive tracking system makes it impossible for the President's profligate travels to escape our vigilance. This means that the good people of Ghana can be assured that when Parliament resumes, every one of these Arabian-king-style trips and every single minute of flight time plus every associated incidental cost at the taxpayer's expense shall be accounted for to the People's Representatives.

Just to illustrate from our latest tracking: President Akufo-Addo took off aboard the LX-DIO to Belgrade at 12:22pm last Sunday from Accra. He landed in Serbia at 8pm local time. The President arrived back home at 5pm today. The LX-DIO was ordered on Saturday 9th October, 2021, leaving its base in Luxembourg and landing in Accra at 12:46pm local time on Saturday after a brief stop in Abuja. Ghanaian taxpayers therefore paid for the overnight waiting period.

At a conservative estimate of 42 hours of aircraft lease duration, the suffering Ghanaian taxpayer is coughing up nothing less than US$588,000 which translates to a scary GHS3.5million.

Meanwhile, more African Presidents are queuing to use our Presidential Jet even though government propagandists who seem to have little regard for the intelligence of Ghanaians claim our Falcon is unsafe and uncomfortable to use. (See attached from final set of slides tracking evidence of the multiple African Presidents using Ghana's presidential jet).

May we hope that after being reminded of the global inspiration, vision, modesty and sacrificial leadership of the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah who together with Tito, Nehru, Nasser and Sukarno established the NAM some 60 years ago, President Akufo-Addo will be compelled to reflect on his own legacy and how he would like the world to remember him.