The Board Chairman of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Paul Adom-Otchere insists that the company’s expenditure on Christmas inspirations at the Kotoka International Airport was prudent.
According to him, the cost incurred to the State is far below what was spent in 2016 on just Terminal 2 of the airport.
In an editorial on Accra-based Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana on Tuesday night, Mr. Adom-Otchere said the viral image of an invoice of GH¢82,000 for the Christmas inspirations was not what was settled on or paid.
He explained that while the cost of the inspirations at terminal 2 and terminal 3 cost about GH¢128,000, advertising company DPP Outdoor donated a sum of GH¢50,000 while the State paid about GH¢78,000.
“We didn’t use this invoice, and people have gone round and talked about the cost on this invoice being the cost of the inspirations. That is totally wrong because this invoice is the one that has four Christmas trees for GH¢84,000.”
“In 2016 the spending on Christmas inspirations was GH¢120,000 and this was at just one terminal. In 2021, GH¢128,366 is the total amount of money that was [supposed to have been] spent on two terminals; terminal 2 and terminal 3. We called on Ghanaian advertising companies and one of them, DPP, came out and helped us to pay for the Christmas inspirations. That has not happened in a very long time, but it happened this time. DPP decided to support us with GH¢50,000. That total cost [of the inspirations] is GH¢78,366. That is the amount of money spent [by the state] in 2021 compared to 2016.”
There has been a social media discussion about the cost of the inspirations at the Airport to the taxpayer, with various figures being quoted as amounts spent on the inspiration.
The Minority in Parliament is set to file an urgent question directed at the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, on the procurement processes used recently to acquire Christmas trees and inspirations at the Kotoka International Airport.
Ranking Member on the Roads and Transport Committee, Governs Kwame Agbodza believes there are a lot of questions surrounding the circumstances under which the decorated pieces were purchased.
