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Rumor Mill of Tuesday, 31 July 2007

Source: Sharkar@SIL

GIA is in Trouble

July 31 2007 -- In March RyanAir refused to continue its lease Agreement with Ghana International Airline(GIA) leading to stranded passengers in Gatwick.

Yet again on Friday, 27 th July it happened again - GIA passengers were stranded. They only made it to Accra this morning after the Authorities had scrambled a lease plane from an Italian Company. Even then the Italian Company were no fools to deal with GIA. They demanded payment upfront from GIA before their pilots would even warm -up their engines for take-off last night.

At one point they asked all passengers to disembark because GIA was playing games with their upfront payment which necessitated the London Metropolitan Police to dispatch a riot control squad to surround the plane. Just incase the passengers who have being stranded since Friday decide to vent their frustrations in very unorthodox ways.

The fact is that GIA is a lose making venture. It was not thought through. It was a set up steeped not in real business concepts but political cronyism, corruption and inefficiency. This is not the science of alchemist to turn silver into gold. It will not work in the real market place. GIA is loosing money in the millions because its flying only as a political statement but almost with empty seats.

So far the Ghanaian Taxpayer has pumped over $30m into this incompetent and corrupt airline. Will it end soon. I doubt it. Since this is an NPP Airline allowing it to go bust will be a political catastrophe. So in a few weeks time expect Mpianim to lead another raid on the coffers of the Ghanaian taxpayer in Parliament to prop up a political venture which like anything that NPP touches is also bound to fail.

In any case it serves the passengers right! Stop paying for incompetency, corruption and bad habits.