Operations of Ghana Airways being reviewed - JAK

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the operations of the national airline, Ghana Airways were being reviewed to make it viable.

He said the airline had a viable agreement with Alitalia but unfortunately it had incurred huge debts due to mismanagement. "Alitalia should be patient with us as we study the problem critically and find a solution to them for the friendship between Ghana and Italy to continue," he said when a 16-member delegation from Italy paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu.

The delegation, which is on a three-day visit to Ghana, includes Parliamentarians, investors and businessmen. It discussed assistance to the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategies (GPRS) and the 22.1 million Euros owed to Alitalia by the Ghana Airways.

Italy has agreed to assist Ghana to establish vocational and technical centres in every region where teachers with the requisite skills would be trained in Italy. President Kufuor said the agreement between the two airlines was viable but unfortunately Ghana Airways incurred huge debts as a result of mismanagement and over-aged aircraft.

He said government was prepared to restructure and modernise the operations of the airline because the passenger market was good. President Kufuor said the long existing relationship between Ghana and Italy would be further deepened and strengthened because Ghana needed development partners prepared to assist the country to be the pedestals of economic development in the Sub-Region.

Dr Gianantonio Arnold, an Italian Parliamentarian and member of the delegation, said Italy was prepared to assist African countries such as Ghana, which had democracy and rule of law well established. He said their assistance to Ghana would be centred on co-operation between the two Parliaments, co-operation and protection of Italian investments and review of double taxation in Ghana as well as provision of some infrastructure for development.