The Minister of Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda says the staff of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) have been misled over a "blatant lie" that the government intends to sell the company.
According to him, the Board of the Company has not yet begun formal negotiations with the proposed strategic partner TAV-Summa Consortium from Turkey even after receiving Executive approval from President Akufo-Addo.
Addressing the press a day after workers of the GACL embarked on a demonstration to register their displeasure over government’s alleged plan to privatise the company, Mr Adda stressed that negotiations have not commenced because the Board is still assessing the scope of the Executive approval.
He said: "There is a lot of falsehood in the system. That the Union did not even come to us to ask us about the details...We have not even written to the strategic partner, so how can you say we are selling the company. We have not invited them formally. Yes, they have made presentations to us on what they intend to do.
"There is nothing formal in terms of a technical proposal, financial or whatever. So, I want it to be very clear that there has not been any effort or any attempt to sell the company, to privatise it or to sign an agreement.
"The union has been misled, for whatever reason, I do not know. I do not want to suggest political motivation but if there are politicians behind them well, unfortunately from Ghana everything has been politicised but they are the same ones who will benefit if this thing happens well".
He also assured that any future agreement with the strategic partner will be to expand the operations of the Airport which will lead to job creation and not job losses.
Strategic agreements
The Minister stated that there are already strategic partnerships between the GACL and private companies in the aviation sector. He said agreements with Swissport Ghana Limited and Aviance Ghana had proved beneficial to the country and not resulted in the sale of any national assets.
Mr Adda stressed that these agreements would serve as experience in negotiating a future strategic agreement.
Terminal 3 debt
Mr Adda explained that such agreements are essential to the development of Ghana's airport infrastructure because the GACL is not attractive to lenders because of a $300 million legacy debt from the construction of Terminal 3 of the Kotoka International Airport.
"The terminal three building and the way it was financed is really a big problem to Airport Company. It was was a well-intended project but the time at which they financed it and the cost of the money is such that it is a big headache to them," he said.
"The total debt was about $400million but they have been able to part of it and it is down to about $300million and I think they are negotiating to see how they can bring that debt down further. They have done quite well in servicing that debt consistently".
Source: Daily Graphic
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Mr Ada, I have monitored your leadership under Kuffour and now and have realised that you are a very incompetent leader who never gets things done only to complain of lack of resources and apportion blames. We are in an era where we are creating wealth, skills and opportunities for every single Ghanaian. If you occupy a position as a leader and you are confronted with a need, you use your brains to think, be resourceful and ambitious to consort Ghanaian own companies to develop the capacity to raise the funds and manage whatever services you are claiming. By that we creat the needed human resource to undertake similar challenge next time and in other organisation. The benefit is that we create wealth, opportunity and skills for Ghanaians not the West. Do you see what Mustafa has done at zongo ministry? when you were complaining of not having an office when you were there. You claim your greatest achievement is getting a new office for Ghana Aviation, aren't you ashamed? Always complain of lack of resources yet you never use your brain to be resourceful. Nana Addo should not approve any partnership of any service at the airport to any foreign own company unless Ghanaian own 100%. Enough of giving out our wealth freely to foreign companies and asking us to tighten our belt. if you don't help to grow Ghanaian businesses to do such jobs, then you should be sacked. You and the tourism minister are the first people Nana Addo should sack because you are both incompetent. The tourism ministry is sitting on billions of dollars per annum yet they are clueless on how to develop the sector. That sector alone can generate well-paid jobs for hundreds of thousands of people in Ghana and become the biggest employer. And it doesn't call for money as they are always lazily saying. It calls for visionary leadership, ability to get things done, strategic planning and ability to see opportunity and explore a new path. So, Mr Ada, the demo is to say they are tired of your incompetence of not grooming Ghanaian businesses but seeding to aid foreigners to enrich themself while we stay poor.