The Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, James Agalga, has explained why the late Prof John Evans Atta Mills cancelled an order for the purchase of a bigger presidential jet while in office.

While calling for the de-politicisation of the issue of the presidential jet, James Agalga, who is the Member of Parliament for Builsa North, refuted assertions that the late Prof Mills cancelled the order for a bigger presidential jet because of politics.

He said that the order for the new presidential jet was cancelled because the current one had just been purchased, and the country was also in a difficult economic position.

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“I recall the reason President Mills canvassed for cancelling the order for the bigger jet was not because of politics. At the time, our economy was facing challenges. We had just taken over the reins of government in this country and wanted to save money to run other equally important sectors of our economy.

“He said, ‘Rather than have two jets at the same time, let us settle for one so that subsequently, if the economy improves, performance indicators improve, we can then go back for the second jet’. So, President Mills did not, at the time, say the bigger jet was not necessary. He only indicated that let the economy improve a little bit, but in the meantime, let's settle for the smaller jet,” he said.

He reiterated; “We inherited a very bad economy at the time. And the president was mindful of the fact that we needed to invest in healthcare delivery, education, and agriculture.”

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