Former Finance Minister On Acquisition Of Presidential Jet.

Former Finance Minister, Kwame Peprah, has in his first ever comment after leaving office, debunked reports over the mode of acquisition by the NDC, of the Gulf Stream III presidential jet.

Most people have described controversial acquisition of the Jet as being shrouded in secrecy. The current President, John Agyekum Kufuor has refused to travel on the aircraft. The government has indicated that it has set up a committee to look into the process of acquisition and terms of payment.

Mr. Peprah told the Dispatch newspaper in an interview that unlike vehicles, the life history of an aircraft could be tracked internationally; hence anyone with doubts could easily find out the successive owners of the jet since it was manufactured.

According to him, the jet was first owned by the Johnson Products Company of the US and described reports that the aircraft was a gift from former Nigerian leader Sani Abacha, which they sold to themselves as unfortunate. He asked the current government to check out the plane's ownership with support from the US Federal Bureau of Investigations.

He said Ghanaians have suspected some form of malfeasance in the purchase of the jet because the terms for financing the aircraft could confuse the ordinary man. The Former Finance Minister explained that the Gullen Company from which the plane was leased was purposefully set up to lease the plane to the Ghanaian government.

The British Bank, HSBC, which is financing the leasing, established Gullen as an offshore entity to minimise tax obligations. Mr. Peprah says the NDC government leased the Gulf Stream III aircraft after it realised the terms proposed at the time for an outright purchase, could not be met by the government