GHAPOHA faces US$11 million loss

Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA), is to lose US$11 million in credit facility lent to former Ghana Airways.

GHAPOHA is to lose the amount because of its inability to prove a charge over Ghana Airways' DC9 aircraft (9G ADU), consequently reclassifying its claim as unsecured from a secured claim.

GHAPOHA has not yet issued an official response on the matter and it is unclear whether it would resort to a legal action to retrieve the amount in question, or to at least prove its charge over the DC9 aircraft.

Indications are that even if GHAPOHA's charge on the aircraft should be ruled in its favour, proceeds from disposal would only be a meagre amount compared to the US$11 million credit claim, gauging by two aircraft and related equipment that were disposed for US$800,000 by the official liquidation.

To relieve it from the troubles of creditor claims since the liquidation exercise began, the official liquidator has tried to scale the number of claims. This has seen the downward revision of unsecured creditor claims from the US$170 million estimate at the 5th creditors meeting in November last year, to US$146 million in May this year reported from the 6th creditors meeting.

The revision came from the rejection of 30 claims amounting to approximately US$44 million for lack of supporting documentation and the reclassification of GHAPOHA's claim, according to the report prepared by Pricewater¬houseCoopers.

Apart from landed property disputes and suits initiated by former employees of Ghana Airways, the official liquidator is currently defending five law suits, ranging from technical and routine nature to major issues affecting potential realisations and claims.

At present, the DC9 aircraft has been lined up with other assets available for sale by the official liquidator.

Setting total payments against total receipts on the liquidation accounts and available funds, as at the close of May this year, came to US$6.5 million while future realisations by the close of liquidation are estimated at US$4.4 million.

Making demands on the obviously lean financial resource position of the liquidated airline are the US$6.75 million secured creditor claims and the Us$146 million unsecured creditor claims belonging to about 260 different claimants - all battling for settlement.