....Presidential Jet, leased at $15m to go for $9m
It is now a done deal and very soon the Gulf stream III aircraft which was acquired by the previous regime and named Presidential Jet will soon be flying to a sellers' market at Savannah Georgia.
The Jet, which has been described by the NPP government that its acquisition was fraught with criminality may be soled at a down price of $9 million.
The Presidential Jet which President Kufuor has refused to use and has been hitch-hiking on fellow president's planes because he says that the will only use the jet if the real ownership of the plan ahs been established.
Now, the HSBC Bank has established that there was no fraud in the acquisition of the presidential jet, yet a company called Gallen exists and that they negotiated and acquired the jet for the Ghana government.
A special account has been established at the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York and that the amount was credited the amount.
And that, currently, there is a balance of $15,993,641.93.
The "Ghanaian Voice" has gathered that because the Kufuor government refused to us the plan for the past months another $2 million will have to be used to put it into shape before it takes on a "never-to-come-back-again" trip to the U.S.
We have laid hands on the agency agreement that will govern the sale and other correspondences on the whole jet affair. Now read on:
HSBC, Project & Export Finance,
Tel: (212) 5258112,
Facsimile: (202) 5256090,
July 26, 2001.
J.H.Mensah,
Leader of Government Business, and Chairman,
National Development, Planning Commission,
Parliament of Ghana,
P.O. Box CT 2517,
Cantonments,
Accra Ghana.
Re: Lese of Gulfstream GIII Aircraft, MSN 493
It was a pleasure finally to meet you in Accra on Friday, I trust that our discussions were able to put your mind further at rest in relation to the financing structure employment in the above transaction.
We have given serious consideration to the matters raised at our meeting and confirm that we continue to seek an amicable and efficient way to achieve your aims with regard to the sale of this aircraft. To this end, I had understood that my visit to Accra was to focus on our agreeing a format for the sale of the aircraft and, since the Government of Ghana has decided not to use the aircraft and the market for this type of aircraft continues to suffer from the effects of the global economic downturn, we continue to recommend that the aircraft is made available for sale at the earliest possible juncture. AN updated draft Sales Agency Agreement to this effect is enclosed for your consideration.
SECTION 1
a) Lease Principal
HSBC Securities (USA In, Investment Bank division, 590 Madison Avenue, 25th floor, New York, NY 10022-2, Tel: (202) 848-0502
The amount outstanding on the lease at 29th October 2001 can be quantified as follows:
Lease Principal $9,844,788.88
Interest on Lease Principal due 29th October 2001: 244,375.01
10,089,163.89
Deposit Account The balance of fund held on the Government of Ghana's deposit account at 30th October 2001 will be: $15,89,163.89
Proposed Course of Action
Sale of Aircraft
It is recommended that Gulfstream proceed with the sale of the aircraft forthwith. This will require signature and return of the enclosed Sales Agency Agreement and delivery of the aircraft to Gulfstream?s facility in Savannah, Georgia. Estimated gross sales proceeds would be: $9,000,000
Net Position
Following completion of the above two transactions that net position of Government of Ghana?s deposit account would be:
Opening Balance $15,993,641.93
Add Aircraft Sale Proceeds (est) $ 9,000,000.00
Less Outstanding Lease Principal $(10,089,163.49)
$ 14,904,478.44
The balance represents a surplus for the Government of Ghana over the original deposit amount of $14,500.00
These funds, net of course would be available for return to the account of the Ghana Peacekeeping Mission at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, the account from which the original deposit was paid.
SECTION II OVERDUE PAYMENTS
The lease payment due on 30 April 2001 together with a part of the payment due on 30 October 2001 and associated costs remain outstanding. These amounts total $2,113,548.26.
SECTION III OTHER MATTERS
During our meeting in Accra some concern was expressed concerning the establishment of Gallen Ltd the special Purpose company that was established for this transaction. It was also mentioned that you have been unable to locate the loan document entered into between Gallen Ltd and Midland Bank plc (now HSBC Bank plc) In order to assist you further in this regard I have arranged for a copy of the Loan Agreement and the Duplicate Minute Book of Gallen Ltd to be couriered to you. Please be assured that we remain committed to assisting the Government of Ghana to achieve a satisfactory resolution to this matter. In this regard we strongly recommend as a first step that we proceed with execution of the Aircraft Sales Agency Agreement and delivery of the aircraft to Gulfstream's facility on Savannah, Georgia.
We would appreciate acknowledgement of receipt of this letter and the other documents referred to above. As you have stated during various meetings recently with myself and my colleague Jeff Bailey you wish to proceed with the sale of the aircraft with immediate effect.
It is therefore important, should you still wish to proceed, for you to sign and return the enclosed Aircraft Sales Agency Agreement. Upon receipt we can agree arrangement for the aircraft to be flown back to Savannah.
We await your response.
Yours sincerely
Edward M. Bullen,
Director, Project and Export Finance,
EB/kw: POG LTR.
CC: Nana Akufo-Addo, Attorney General
Fax 233 21 667606
