Government to procure new Aircraft for Ghana Air Force

Accra, April 28, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama has said the government was on the verge of procuring new aircraft for the Ghana Air Force.

The planes, he told journalists in an interview in his office, would include one 90-seater aircraft from Brazil and four helicopters. He said the government was also working on one Falcon 900 Presidential Jet that was ordered during the Kufuor Administration.

The Brazilian aircraft will replace the Fokker 27 aircraft that the Ghana Air Force has used for 37 years.

Vice President Mahama said apart from having a high sitting capacity, the aircraft also has the range to carry troops for assignments in other parts of the continent.

Vice President Mahama said it was untrue that the government had abrogated the contract signed by the former government to procure a Falcon 900 Presidential Jet, adding that cancelling the contract would cost the government between $7million and $10 million.

"The aircraft has already been customized for Ghana. The only thing that we did was to review the deal and change the sitting capacity from 10 passengers and three crew members to 16 passengers and three crew members." He said while negotiations on other aircrafts were on-going, the Falcon 900 Presidential Jet would be in the country between July and August this year and called on people seeking information on the procurement to go through the right channels rather than passing through mischievous ways to misinform the public.

The Vice President said TATA Motors an Indian Automobile Company had already sealed a deal with the government to provide 300 TATA buses using natural gas on pilot basis for an urban transport programme.

"The buses will not use petrol or diesel, but will depend solely on natural gas which is not only cheaper, but also environmentally friendly." On the economy, the Vice President said inflation would hit a single digit by September.

He attributed the current drops in inflation and stability of the cedi to prudent economic management of the government that included 30 percent cut-backs on government expenditure.

Vice President Mahama said the government would support all small and medium scale enterprises to flourish to pave way for an economic revolution in the coming years.

"In spite of the government's economic challenges, we were able to push our social responsibility agenda ahead by providing free school uniforms and exercise books, increased the capitation grant and extended the school feeding programme to many schools," he said