He said this is due to the fact that the current presidential jet is inadequate for foreign travels.
In a press conference in Accra, Mr. Arhin said the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has already started the process.
“You would recollect that when the government of President Kufuor left office in 2008, it had procured two jets – the current Falcon and a bigger one, but for one reason or the other, the bigger jet was cancelled, and we were left with just one. That has happened, but you will recall that the Defence Minister stated clearly that the government has decided to buy a bigger jet to save us from all these troubles.”
“I don’t want to go into the details, but I am sure that when the Minister gets the opportunity, he will give further information on what the government is doing in that respect, but I am sure of the fact that government is already in the process of getting a bigger jet for use”, he disclosed.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has come under criticism from the opposition on the hiring of luxury jets by the President on his foreign trips.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament from North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has accused President Akufo-Addo of wasting taxpayer’s money on hiring luxurious jets for his foreign trips instead of using the existing one presidential jet.
The government had explained that the current presidential jet was not convenient for official trips as it couldn’t take more numbers and had limited facilities for the comfort of a president.