He said the current one being used by the presidency is not fit for purpose and outmoded.
Speaking on the floor or parliament to justify President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s hiring of private jet for his recent foreign travels.
“The capacity of the current Falcon aircraft is far below that of Fokker 28 which flew very, very important persons of more than 25 passengers during the Acheampong, Akufo, Rawlings and Kufuor eras hence the urgent need for an appropriate aircraft which can carry better payload in terms of passengers of 70 to 100 people and to carry all their baggage without affecting the performance of the aircraft.”
“Mr Speaker, it is interesting to note that the Armed Forces of Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Uganda, Kenya, Congo (DR), Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, just to mention but a few, all have a Boeing or Airbus Jet of that capacity to serve as strategic Air lifts,” the minister said.
He said the use of the G-KELT aircraft on May 16 this year to France, Belgium and South Africa and back to Ghana was mainly to ensure the safety of the President and his entourage.
According to him, the presidential jet - a Ghana Airforce Falcon Ex-Easy - could only carry 11 passengers minus the crew and it often had to do “undesirable refueling stops at unintended destinations” during long hauls, causing inconvenience to both the President and the host countries.
Mr Nitiwul said this in response to an urgent question by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa, on the floor of Parliament yesterday on whether the presidential jet was in good condition and considered air-worthy.