Alarm Bells Ringing At Ghana's Gateway

....As Airports Company ''Wobbles'' Into A Legal And Commercial ''Quicksand”

The Research Team of The New Crusading GUIDE has over the last six months been engaged in a ''quiet'' investigation into some developments at the nation's premier international airport, the Kotoka International Airport(KIA) and in order to present a factual, authentic and fairly balanced story/report on the happenings and developments at the KIA as well as the policy direction of Ghana's Aviation Industry, two sets of questionnaire have been sent to the Management of the Ghana Airports Company Limited(GACL), an entity wholly owned by the Government of Ghana(GoG); to elicit its (Management's) response(s) to certain issues arising out of our on-going research investigations.

Our first set of questions dated March 2, 2011, received a formal response dated April 11, 2011and this was after we had sent a reminder dated March 28, 2011 to the GACL Management calling its attention to the almost six weeks delay and/or inaction in dealing with the questions we had communicated to them via our March 2nd, 2011 letter/questionnaire.

Indeed, efforts were even made by us to get the Minister of Transport, Mr. Collins Duada to impress upon the GACL Management to respond to our questions with dispatch. The Management then through its Corporate Communications Officer (CCO), Adwoa Sono in a letter dated April 7th, 2011 in reference to our March 2nd,2011 letter/questionnaire, advised that “we are compiling the relevant information in response to your questionnaire and will make it available to you as soon as possible''.

Upon receipt of the April 11th, 2011 formal response(s), our Research Team found some of the GACL Management's answers to our questions inadequate and even confusing relative to the findings of our on-going investigations hence an editorial decision was taken to defer publication and rather send yet another set of questions to the GACL Management seeking additional information and clarification on some of the answers which had been offered.

This second set of questions was dated April 18th,2011 and this time it attracted a response directly from the CEO of the Ghana Airports Company, Mrs. Doreen Owusu Fianko who indicated that even though our letter was dated April 18th,2011, it wasn’t until April 29th,2011 that it was received by the Management of the Company.

''We advise that we are compiling the relevant information in response to your questionnaire. We count on your co-operation and understanding on this matter'', articulated Mrs. Fianko in her letter dated May 4, 2011.

Meanwhile, The New Crusading GUIDE's Research Team is patiently waiting for the ''additional'' and ''relevant information'' which the GACL Management had promised to deliver in reaction to our second questionnaire dated April 18th,2011 which, according to the GACL CEO, was received by Management on April 29th,2011. The ''inclarity'', ''confusion'' and'' inadequacy'' inherent in the first formal response(s) by the GACL Management to our first questionnaire related among other issues to whether or not the Ghana Airports Company was guided by well-defined aviation and investment policies and if so what were they in specific terms and details.

Unfortunately, the answers provided by Management were ''too flat'' and "too loose''; in that Management did not cite any policy documents which could indicate a path of sustainability in the development and growth of the country's aviation industry or business. Hopefully, the next response(s) from Management will fill in the blank spaces and reassure both the traveling public and the investor community.

It is therefore expected that in its much-awaited second formal or official response to our questionnaire, the GACL Management will seize the opportunity to PROVIDE CLEAR-CUT ANSWERS TO WHETHER OR NOT A COMPETITIVE TENDERING PROCESS WAS CONDUCTED RELATIVE TO THE PROCUREMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR THE PERISHABLE CARGO CENTER, KIA AND THE PROJECT FOR A NEW CATERING COMPANY WHOSE PARTICIPANTS/SHAREHOLDERS ARE STILL UNCLEAR. QUESTIONS ABOUT NON- TRANSPERANCY AND LACK OF CONSULTATIONS WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN THE GROUND HANDLING BUSINESS IN PARTICULAR AND THE AVIATION INDUSTRY IN GENERAL AWAIT URGENT ANSWERS. Tongues are wagging as to the propriety of the owner of the aerodrome seeking to compete against the companies it has licensed to offer a competitive environment in the aviation/ground handling business.

Some highly-placed personnel of many of the companies operating at KIA including the international airlines, have intimated to our Research scouts that there had been ''zero communication or consultation'' with them with regard to some of the much-publicized or advertised initiatives being undertaken or anticipated as part of the larger process of the redevelopment of Ghana's main international gateway.

An insider at the GACL confided in our Research scouts that some of the companies operating at the KIA, out of deep frustration and fatigue with the alleged manipulative and unfair practices by the GACL Management, are contemplating taking legal action to sustain their legal and commercial rights in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agreements entered into with the GACL.

This situation, according to the GACL insider, will be potentially detrimental to the investment image of the country and must be avoided by all means.

''The aviation industry and its multi-faceted auxillary businesses require high level technical and professional competencies in order to keep pace with the fast moving modern trends in that hugely dynamic industry. And Ghana can only make it in that direction if myopia, arrogance and unfair business practices are avoided. People entrusted with public responsibility must either work according to due process or be compelled to do so. Alternatively, they must be shown the exit lest their actions and inactions derail the public or national interest'', articulated an official of the Ministry of Transport who spoke to us on condition of strict confidentiality.

Our on-going investigations have established that something is amiss in the management and direction in the present set-up at the Kotoka International Airport(KIA) and the Ghana Airports Company Limited, and it is the hope of The New Crusading GUIDE and its Research Team that the findings and observations of its on-going investigations will impact positively on the country's quest to modernize its aviation industry and help promote a culture of transparency, accountability and strict professionalism in the management of Ghana's aviation industry and related businesses.

Please stay tuned.....