The Minority in Parliament has once again chastised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for using a private jet to travel outside the nation.
President Akufo-Addo left Ghana on Thursday for a 10-day trip to Europe, stopping in five countries.
But, according to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Member of Parliament for North Tongu who is also the Minority’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, the President’s latest trip is the pinnacle of insensitivity to the suffering of citizens at a time when the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy is being rejected.
Mr. Ablakwa said in a press conference in Parliament on Friday that the President’s current trip costs GH14,000 per hour, or nearly GH5 million, and that Ghanaians should not allow it.
“The President’s recent behavior occurred at a time when thousands of Ghanaians were out on the streets protesting the regressive, vulgar, and hated E-levy. We are enraged that at a time when the people of this country are saying enough is enough, the president chooses to fly abroad… Many Ghanaians believe that this is an administration that does not want to be held accountable, that is wasteful and profligate. Millions of Ghana cedis have been squandered in these trips under a president who promised to preserve the public purse, and now we can’t even see the purse.”
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, says his colleague’s fears are unfounded.
“It’s critical to raise this issue of mode of transportation. We, as a country, must also take the initiative and confront it. To construct what we term a functional democracy, democracy will require institutional pillars and resources, so if an MP says why [will the President travel] but uses that money for anything else, it won’t add up. We must all agree that some frameworks are required. So I won’t challenge anyone wanting accountability or a certain route of travel, but to suggest that the President flying on a plane other than one procured by the government is insensitive begs the point, and I disagree.”
North Tongu legislators have been putting pressure on the government in recent months, accusing President Akufo-Addo of spending taxpayers’ money on costly private jets for his overseas visits.
Mr. Ablakwa’s efforts to get government officials to publish the cost of President Akufo-foreign Addo’s trips have failed.
