GACL must justify need for an increase in airport charges – Kwame Agbodza

The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Select Committee on Roads and Transport, Kwame Governs Agbodza, says the GACL must justify any proposed increase in the Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC) and assure Parliament that any additional funding would not be used for other purposes. The GACL, a state-owned limited liability company responsible for managing all civilian state-funded airports in the country, is seeking an upward adjustment of the current GHC 5 APSC charged to each passenger on all domestic routes. The company says the proposed increase is to enable them to maintain existing domestic airports and new terminal buildings soon to be inaugurated in Tamale and Kumasi. Their proposal is expected to be submitted to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Transport in due course. However, Mr. Agbodza says he will only support any such increase if the “GACL come out with the real cost of their operations, identify the cause/ causes of their cash flow and tell us what the additional money will be used for.” “In recent times, we have seen many state agencies simply go and collateralise expected incomes and misuse them. I can’t support that,” Mr. Agbodza told AviationGhana. The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Select Committee on Roads and Transport, Kwame Governs Agbodza, advised the GACL to be more innovative in raising funds to sustain the operations of domestic airports without recourse to the government.