Kufuor’s ‘Presidential Jet’ Finally Touches Down Today

The much awaited highly anticipated arrival of the presidential jet which became the subject of a heated debate between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and then opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2008, is likely to be today, according to sources.

Peacefmonline is reliable informed that Vice President John Mahama will outdoor the new presidential jet at a colourful ceremony later in the day, after officials of the Ghana Armed Forces take delivery of the Falcon 900 since President John Mills is out of the country.

President Mills is in Japan for a four-day investment visit.

The ‘Falcon 900EX Easy Aircraft’ was purchased by the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to replace the Fokker 27 which was known as the ‘flying coffin’ that the Ghana Air Force had used for the past 37 years as a presidential jet.

The presidential jet was initially scheduled to be outdoor on Thursday September 23, but had to be postponed because the jet could not arrive in the country as earlier reported.

The acquisition of the jet by the Kufuor administration attracted criticisms from the then opposition NDC who questioned the rationale for the plane at a time when critical sectors of the economy, such as health and education, were badly in need of funding.

President Kufuor refused to use a Gulf Stream Presidential jet acquired by the Rawlings administration, because its transaction was shrouded in mystery, and begun the process of acquiring the 37 million dollar Falcon 900 presidential jet and an Airbus for the Ghana Air Force in 2007.

Source: Beatrice Adepa Frempong/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana