Over the years, a major concern for Ghanaians has been the frequent foreign travels by the President and the huge expenditures associated with them, as a result Ghanaians seem to be fed up and as such, they have heavily descended on the President and the Defense Minister regarding the recent travel.
This follows the Defense minister, Dominic Nitiwul justifying the;recent 2.8 million Ghana cedis private jet trip by Akuffo Addo for an international meeting in France and South Africa. The Defense Minister stated that the Presidential jet has no;bathroom and also cannot accommodate the Presidential entourage and as such, the need to hire the private jet.
Comments on social media
Well, his justification has ignited the anger of Ghanaians who are already;in a rage about several other issues in the country including insecurities and increasing taxes. Some therefore took to social media to vent out their frustrations over the Ministers justification.
Some were of the view that the Minister’s “excuse and justification is senseless”. They further stated that the Ministers justification is “very lame” as they believe that the minister is taking Ghanaians for “fools”. According to them the President can arrive at his destination and take his bath at the hotel before the meeting starts. Therefore, hiring a private jet for that amount is “ridiculous”.
That notwithstanding, some speculated that the President wants to use the taxpayer’s money to buy a new jet. According to them, the previous administration didn’t have any problem;using the Presidential jet therefore, Nana Addo shouldn’t play the smart man.
Also, some stated that upon observing various utterances;from government officials, they have realized that these officials consider the average Ghanaian as either “ignorant;or childish”, therefore, they are not allowed to seek answers when they feel the government is taking the wrong direction. According to them, “the government officials speak to the Ghanaian as a father speaks to a troublesome son anyhow”.
Nonetheless, some of the youth who are in rage have vowed never to vote for any political aspirant. They explained that they have had enough of “lying politicians and their unfulfilled promises”.
Meanwhile, some shared a viral video of the President busily slumbering during the meeting which he hired the 2.8 million Ghana cedis private jet to attend. Some took the opportunity to pass funny comments noting that this is an international disgrace that Ghana doesn’t deserve. Some reactions on social media read:
Akufo-Addo criticized over 62.5 million Ghana cedis for trips
This isn’t the first time such an issue is happening as it can be recalled that in 2019, President Akufo-Addo, was heavily criticized for spending so much on his travel to foreign countries and within the country.
The Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, raised the alarm indicating that the President spent 62.5 million Ghana cedis on foreign travels in the first nine months of 2019.
“The breakdown of the expenditure by the Office of Government Machinery as part of the budget estimates indicated that about GH₵63 million was spent on foreign trips, GHS5.8 million on hotel accommodation in Ghana and GH₵1.9 million spent on refreshments, while GH₵68.9 million was spent on operational enhancement expenses”.
However, the Presidency justified the expenditure saying every amount was within the budgetary threshold of GH₵222 million.
The then Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor, in defending the expenditure, added that President Akufo-Addo is committed to protecting the public purse. He went ahead to point to the president’s lifestyle as a public assurance of his frugality.
“The man [President] drives in his own car which he bought in the year 2011, and everybody who works with him, everyone who is around him, knows that this is a man who is not into all sorts of extravagant expenditure”.
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