Akufo-Addo travels in jets that even Arabian kings and Russian oligarchs will be jealous of – Sammy Gyamfi
The National Communication Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi has re-echoed his displeasure with the cost of President Akufo-Addo’s travels outside the country.
In his opinion, the expenditure incurred as a result of the President’s travels, comes at a great cost to the ordinary Ghanian tax payer.
Speaking in an interview with Raymond Acquah on UpFront on Wednesday, he bemoaned the huge sums involved in the President’s travels, and called on him to stop. This he said, will give more credence to government’s measures to cut down on its expenditure.
“What has created this problem is their reckless spending and unbridled borrowing. And what you expect them to do is to cut down on the expenditure. In truth, what are we seeing? Even after they announced the cosmetic expenditure cuts, haven’t we seen our President flying in his usual baby, the Boeing 737 LS Duo, that cost this country almost $20,000 per hour?
From Washington DC to North Carolina and from North Carolina to London, do you know how much that trip alone is costing the poor tax payers of this country? 3.5 million Ghana Cedis. That is some 35 billion Old Ghana Cedis”, he lamented.
Sammy Gyamfi added that, “In the last one year, from May last year till now, this President has blown over 28 million Ghana Cedis; that is 280 billion old Cedis on just his luxurious travels in these ultra-hyper expensive private jets that even Arabian kings and Russian oligarchs will be jealous of”.
The NDC’s spokesperson made these assertions, while expressing his views on the “Review of the First Quarter of 2022”, on UpFront.
In this regard, he accused the government of plunging the country into debts that have never been recorded since the country gained the status of middle-income country. Sammy Gyamfi said the situation has been occasioned by the ‘recklessness’ and ‘mismanagement’ of the current regime.
In his view, since the NPP assumed office, the prices of essential goods and services have shot up astronomically to the detriment of Ghanaians. To reverse the tide, he urged government to minimise its expenditure and be frugal in its dealings; taking into account the amount of revenue it accrues in relation to its expenditure.
Touching on recent happenings in Parliament, he opined that the move by the Minority to boycott proceedings during the passage of the E-levy Bill in Parliament, was a strategic decision which he supports.
According to him, the NDC lawmakers did that to give them an opportunity to still fight the E-levy. In his explanations, he revealed that the NDC had only 136 MPs in the Chamber due to the case involving the Assin North MP, James Gyekye Quayson; therefore the best alternative was to stage a walkout to prevent the Majority from having the quorum needed to take a decision.
Commenting on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin’s referral of three Majority MPs to the Privileges Committee over their continuous absence, Sammy Gyamfi stated that the NDC is yet to communicate its official position on the matter.
Adding that the party will do so within the week, after extensive consultations.
