Manager accused of selling sand meant for expansion works at the Kumasi airport

Heaps of sand meant for expansion works at the Kumasi airport are being carted and sold to private developers within the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti region, mynewsgh.com investigations have uncovered.

Some aggrieved workers at airport are calling on the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to look into the operational activities of the regional manager of the facility Mr. Kwadwo Abrefa Sarkodie who they accused of being neck deep in the alleged shady deals.

The staff say the regional manager and head of security have been selling trips of sand meant for expansion works on the stalled runway project started by the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

Mynewsgh.com inspected the stalled project site to ascertain claims by the workers and observed some changes that occurred with the visible heaps of sand non-existent.

It was uncovered that the heaps of sand meant for fillings at the airport are usually conveyed in the night to locations of private developers after prior arrangements in the day with each trip being sold for as much as GH¢700.

Armed with this information, our reporters posed as persons interested and met with one of the drivers and asked if it was possible to get five trips.

He confirmed that a double aisle load was GH¢700 but indicated that it could only be delivered in the night but when asked why, he claimed the airport manager directed that it is only under the cover of darkness will they be allowed to make deliveries.

“I am the only person who can speak to him if your money is ready”, he revealed.

When the Kumasi airport manager Mr. Kwadwo Abrefa Sarkodie was reached on phone to arrange an interview on the matter, he demanded to know the subject which was spelt out clearly to him.

He however demanded to know who the agitating workers and the driver believed to be the link man were but when told it was unethical to divulge the sources, he declined the interview.

“If you decline to name the sources I am also declining the interview because you have refused to obey me”, he stated.

The erstwhile government rehabilitated the defective runway at the facility and installed airfield lights to help night operations and planned to expand it to assume international standard.

The first phase of the project was commissioned in 2003 at cost of $ 4.9 million with anticipation that second phase will be completed some months later.

Meanwhile the Aviation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah announced to pay working visits to airports as government plans to make Kumasi and Tamale Airports international standards.

According to her, the Aviation Ministry intends to revamp old airstrips to make air transport easier with introduction of a system called “air taxi” as fact finding exercise shows more people in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions travel by air.