Majority unhappy about minority stance

Page 17, March 26, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Majority in Parliament has expressed its dismay at attempts being made by the Minority in Parliament to throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians concerning the genuine efforts being made by the government to re-equip the Ghana Air Force.
“It is regretted that the NDC Minority in Parliament, in their desperate effort to equate the present acquisition of aircraft to the very irregular, fraudulent and infamous acquisition of the Gulf Stream II, which was tainted with irregularity in 2000 by the NDC government, told a pack of lies and outright distortion of facts to the Ghanaian public,” it said.
In a statement in reaction to a press conference by the Minority on the acquisition of jets for the Air Force, the Majority said since the NPP government assumed office in 2001, there had been persistent requests by the Ghana Air Force to equip the force, adding that the President had shelved the request in view of the socio-economic conditions of the time.
It said today the economic conditions of the country had significantly improved and so it had now become necessary to bring the matter back from the back burner, given the fact that by 2010 the F2B and F27 aircraft of the Air Force were going to be decommissioned, explaining that the planes cost the nation about one million euros in repairs every year.
The statement added that in going for the new planes, the government was not seeking its comfort, as stated by the Minority in its press conference, but rather it was “part of the demonstrable commitment of the President to build institutions of state for the benefit of the state and not his comfort”.
It explained that another palpable lie of the NDC was that the aircraft were not for the Air Force, saying that it was common knowledge that the Air Force, as an institution of state, was the custodian of the executive jets which were used by state institutions.
It said it was not true that the government had paid five per cent as advance payment and had, therefore, breached the Constitution, explaining that the very contract that the NDC referred to stated that the whole agreement was subject to verification by Parliament.
“We challenge the NDC Minority to produce evidence of payment or retract and apologise, not to the government but the good people of Ghana,” it stressed.
The statement admitted that while there were still problems with getting potable water, electricity, roads, health facilities and educational institutions to every corner of the country, the government was still working hard to meet those challenges.
It added that the government was not going to make a down payment of $100 million, as was being peddled by the NDC, explaining that the country’s obligation was to pay $1.857 million and thereafter make another payment of $3.715.
“We would like to assure Ghanaians that the whole transaction is so transparent that any Ghanaian can verify the contract sum and obligations on the Internet.
It said unlike the NDC’s acquisition of the Gulf Stream which in a single day went through three different parties, the present transaction was manifestly transparent, well thought of and could stand the litmus test.