Gen. Kotoka’s Children Commend Gov’t Over KIA Facelift

CHILDREN AND grandchildren of the late Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, the man after whom the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is named, have commended President Akufo-Addo and the Aviation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, for giving the airport a major facelift.

Daughter of General Kotoka, Janet Kotoka, who resides in London, together with her brother, Eric Atsu Kotoka, and two grandchildren of General Kotoka, Selorm Kotoka and Nada Kotoka, on Friday, May 18, 2018, paid a courtesy call on the aviation minister at her office in Accra, where they expressed their appreciation for the way the New Patriotic Party government has managed to improve the image of the KIA.

General Kotoka, born on October 26, 1926, died on April 17, 1967, in an attempted coup d'état. He was a member of the National Liberation Council, which overthrew President Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party (CPP) administration on February 24, 1966.

The KIA came to be named after him after his dead body was found at the spot where the country's international airport was built.

The visit to the Ministry of Aviation on Friday was the first of its kind by his family since his death.

His daughter told the minister that the family had quietly been monitoring the Akufo-Addo's government with respect to developmental projects at the KIA.

She told the minister, “The family has been very quiet and we've been monitoring you without your awareness. And we're glad about the way you've been improving the image of the airport.”

The family's recognition of President Akufo-Addo and the minister's efforts comes at a time when government is preparing to inaugurate the multi-million-dollar Terminal 3 of the KIA by the end of this year.

Madam Dapaah, who has been spearheading the Terminal 3 project, seized the opportunity to extend government's invitation to the family to witness the inauguration ceremony.

She thanked the family in return for being appreciative of the efforts government was making to build upon the image of the airport, praying for the late General's soul to rest in perfect peace.

“And we thank God for his life; may he rest in peace,” she said, asking for a minute of silence in his honour.

BY Melvin Tarlue