'Letting Turkish company control 66% of KIA simply means you’ve sold it' – PSWU

The Deputy General Secretary of the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr John Sampa, has said if a proposed strategic partnership agreement between the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) and TAM-SUMMA Consortium, a Turkish company, concerning the management of the Kotoka International Airport is approved, the deal will force the hands of the government into privatising the national asset.

Mr Sampa said per some documents available to the ICU, the government of Ghana will control only 34 percent shares of KIA if the deal gets the nod.

According to him, even though the government has denied that KIA is being sold, the agreement, as it stands, will make the private company the majority shareholder.

He told Accra100.5FM’s parliamentary correspondent Richard Appiah Sarpong in an exclusive interview after a press conference in Accra on Monday, 13 July 2020 that: “The KIA workers are part of this union and, so, we had a meeting with them last week. During that meeting, they showed us documentation to the effect that the KIA is about to be sold”.

“They showed us a proposal from the government, which centres on public-private partnership and one that when approved, will give the government only 34 percent and the Turkish company consortium 66%”, he said.

“If you enter into an agreement with someone who will have 66 percent shares, then it simply means you have sold the company.”

Mr Sampa’s comments come after Aviation Minister Joseph Kofi Adda denied media reports that KIA was being sold.

According to the Minister, what is being considered for deliberation by the Ministry and shareholders including GACL, is a strategic partnership to improve service delivery and expansion of infrastructure at the airport to achieve the government’s vision of making Ghana the aviation hub within the West African sub-region.