Rented Jet, Hotel Bills, Food, Drinks, Medicals & Per Diems Cited
Lawmaker, Samuel OkudzetoAblakwa, who has been tracking President Akufo-Addo’s use of private jets for his travels, has claimed the President has again rented the luxurious jet for his latest trip abroad at a staggering US$776,000, the Cedi equivalent of GHS4,979,328.16, by the time he returns. This is minus Hotel bills, food, drinks, medicals and per diems.
This colossal expenditure, is being foisted on Ghanaian taxpayers by the President in the face of economic hardship, lecturers’ strike, hunger in Senior High Schools across the country, delayed or abandoned projects and in the midst of the government’s demand for 1.75% E-Levy or else Ghana’s economy will collapse.
The President, left Ghana last week for a ten-day working visit to France, Guyana, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, and MrOkudzetoAblakwa, described the President’s trip on the rented private jet, while the “Yentua Demo” was happening as “blatant contempt, gross insensitivity and utter disdain for the Ghanaian people”.
According to the North Tongu Member of Parliament, “in sum, for abandoning Ghana’s Presidential Jet and obstinately choosing an extravagant and sybaritic option, the Ghanaian taxpayer should expect to cough up a staggering US$776,000 or the Cedi equivalent of GHS4,979,328.16 by the time President Akufo-Addo returns.
“Ironically, the cost is much higher than the GHS4.6million government has been unable to release to the Students Loan Trust since last year, making it impossible for the SLT to cater for the needs of thousands of tertiary students for more than a year, as it emerged in Parliament this week when I demanded answers from the Education Minister”, the MP cried in a write up on his facebook hours after the President left Ghana.
MrOkudzetoAblakwa, who has been in the forefront against profligate expenditure, on Saturday took to his Facebook again, revealing how in the week alone, the Akufo-Addo “government presented tax exemption requests to parliament in favour of giant companies valued at about US$100 million”.
To him, “a government claiming revenue shortfalls and desperate to implement an obnoxious and regressive E-Levy which is most punitive to the poor should not be aiding big businesses to rig the system” although “in his 2017 Message on the State of the Nation, President Akufo-Addo pledged to fix our broken tax exemptions regime, except that, like many other promises, we need to send him a reminder”.
He stated that “Government policies must lead to a fair and just outcome. This country cannot keep burdening the suffering masses and watch helplessly as mighty conglomerates collude with their cronies in power to avoid paying their fair share” adding, “let’s fight and defeat this spider’s web taxation system which only catches small fly MoMo users as the corporatocracy break through with impunity”.
On the President’s trip abroad, MrAblakwa, said “our comprehensive computation of the President’s flying time for his 10-day tour looks as follows: 6 hours and 50min from Accra to France; 8hours and 30min from France to Guyana; 9hours and 5min from Guyana to Germany; 1hour and 10min from Germany to France; approximately 1hour from France to Belgium; another 1hour from Belgium to UK; 6hours and 30min from UK back to Ghana. This works out to some 34hours of air travel — at US14,000 an hour, an initial bill of US$476,000 arises”.
He wrote “Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo demonstrated beyond any shred of doubt that his blatant contempt, gross insensitivity and utter disdain for the Ghanaian people who made him President have no boundaries, whatsoever.
“On the very same day and literally during the “Yentua March” by thousands of Ghanaians from all walks of life who took to the streets of Accra to register their revulsion in the strongest of terms against the obnoxious E-Levy and government’s profligate dissipation of current taxes, loans and other resources which have led to a downgraded economy now in the ICU; President Akufo-Addo, in the most heartless, scornful and outrightly insulting conduct yet, opted for the umpteenth time to abandon Ghana’s Presidential Jet and fly out of the country aboard his chartered US14,000 an hour ultra-luxury executive jet — the Boeing 737-97Y(ER)(BBJ3), registered LX-DIO.
“In a grotesque imagery of a President who couldn’t be bothered or give a toss about the mass agitations of his employers — President Akufo-Addo took off from the Kotoka International Airport at exactly 13:00 GMT — obviously at the same time angry protesters were approaching Parliament to present their petition.
“The President’s reckless indiscretion is likely to make it to the Guinness Book of Records as the most provocative, thoughtless and hard-hearted misconduct by any democratically elected leader.
One wonders if the President still felt no remorse when he saw from mid-air, the protestors, some of them older than him and others struggling mothers worried about grim prospects for their children.
From our unimpeachable tracking, President Akufo-Addo touched down last night in France at 20:50 CET.
“Our comprehensive computation of the President’s flying time for his 10-day tour looks as follows: 6 hours and 50min from Accra to France; 8hours and 30min from France to Guyana; 9hours and 5min from Guyana to Germany; 1hour and 10min from Germany to France; approximately 1hour from France to Belgium; another 1hour from Belgium to UK; 6hours and 30min from UK back to Ghana. This works out to some 34hours of air travel — at US14,000 an hour, an initial bill of US$476,000 arises.
“In addition, we estimate incidentals such as: landing fees, ramp fees, segment fees, federal excise tax, 7-member crew oversight fees, 7-member crew per diem fees, wait time fees, short leg fees, de-icing fees, reposition fees, international fees and one-way fees to amount to a conservative figure of US$300,000.
“In sum, for abandoning Ghana’s Presidential Jet and obstinately choosing an extravagant and sybaritic option, the Ghanaian taxpayer should expect to cough up a staggering US$776,000 or the Cedi equivalent of GHS4,979,328.16 by the time President Akufo-Addo returns.
“Ironically, the cost is much higher than the GHS4.6million government has been unable to release to the Students Loan Trust since last year, making it impossible for the SLT to cater for the needs of thousands of tertiary students for more than a year, as it emerged in Parliament this week when I demanded answers from the Education Minister.
“What should further embarrass all well-meaning Ghanaians is the fact that our real-time tracking reveals that none of the African Presidents joining President Akufo-Addo for these meetings are engaged in such unconscionable hedonistic misconduct. They are all making good use of their national presidential jets.
“For a President running away from accountability as his Ministers unjustifiably and unconstitutionally hide behind the cloak of national security not to disclose the full cost of his lavish skybath travels to us in Parliament, one would have expected that the President will reconsider his ways, particularly considering the now collapsed economy and how the Ghanaian populace have flatly refused to accept the E-Levy largely because of the President’s penchant for obscene opulence and impunity of not accounting to the people who fund his aristocratic tastes.
“What a terrible own-goal at a time President Akufo-Addo is contemptuously defying practically everyone and moving mountains to force the passage of the dreaded E-Levy.
