Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu in the Volta Region, has advocated a National Presidential Travel Policy to enforce strict guidelines and check expensive travels at the expense of the public purse.
He stated that trips on the hired jet cost the state £14,000 per hour and a cumulative GHؓ¢3.46 million which could be avoided with a policy.
“The Presidency is still using a private jet for foreign travels and refusing to use the Presidential jet and all the reasons used are not legitimate and sound and they just do not cut it and when you say the president wants a bigger jet than our presidential jet which takes 17 people,” Mr Ablakwa decried.
His call comes after an allegation President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo hired another luxurious aircraft on his recent foreign trips to the UK and Germany and luxurious VIP jets which the president chatters19 seaters with two seats difference.
Earlier this year, Mr Ablakwa stirred controversy when he alleged that President Akufo-Addo hired a private jet at the cost of GH¢2.8 million on his travels to France, Belgium and South Africa at the expense of Ghanaian tax payer.
He observed that if the president was not acting like his predecessor, then a national presidential travel policy would enforce strict guidelines and any government would be obliged to comply with the travel policy.
“If you look at what pertains in the USA, even when you used Air force 1, for official assignment where probably you do detour to attend a party campaign you will be asked to reimburse and strict guidelines by developed nations are protecting public purse, I want policy to regulate discretion which is being randomly abused by the President,” Mr Ablakwa pointed out. –ghanaweb.com
