The Ministry of Transport has described as “unfair,” policy think tank IMANI Ghana’s attempt to shoot down government’s intentions of establishing a new national airline.
The Ministry dismissed IMANI Ghana’s claims that establishing a new national airline in the midst of economic challenges, will be a bad investment.
Some industry players and Civil Society Group, have questioned government’s decision to establish a national airline for the third time after two previous ventures failed due to mismanagement and huge debts.
[contextly_sidebar id=”BrfrCDv2AfVm4TlabVfMl9FTuOKqREvf”]IMANI Ghana’s president, Franklin Cudjoe charged government to fix the challenges facing the economy before setting up a new national airline.
He said for a nation which is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic bailout to consider reviving its national airline following two failed attempts “points to a lack of priority.”
According to him, if government’s “motivation for resurrecting the national airline is to increase revenue; it may very well yield the opposite.”
Mr. Cudjoe added that it will be “unduly optimistic to think that things will be better if we rebuild a national airline that is partially state owned.”
In response however, the Deputy Minister of Transport, Joyce Mogtari said she would have been probably “very, very happy if IMANI had not just shot down the whole idea or question whether or not it was a priority.”
She assured Ghanaians that the government has extensively assessed the potential or otherwise of the move and therefore there is no cause for alarm.
She clarified that government will in no way repeat the mistakes made with the management of previous national carriers; Ghana Airways and Ghana International Airline.
“This time round, we have engaged the services of a competent consultant to advise the Ministry of Transport which represents the government of Ghana on how to implement this all important national exercise,” she explained.
The Deputy Minister admitted that the nation has indeed had two bad experiences in the past “but this time, the Minister has assured Ghanaians that President John Mahama wants to do this all over again and wants to do it right and that is what we all must remember.”
Joyce Mogtari advised that when great initiatives are being taken by the government to improve upon the socio-economic lives of citizens, “let’s all open our arms and embrace it, let’s provide solutions and make recommendations.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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