Stay off airline business - Asuma Bandah advices gov’t

Former Ghana Airways Board Member, Alhaji Asuma Banda has advised government to ditch its plans to establish a national airline carrier.

Speaking on the maiden edition of Joy News EXclusive, Alhaji Asuma Banda hinted that governments’ previous interventions in Ghana Airways and International airline and how poorly they ended up are clear signals that it is better to privatize the expensive venture of a national airline operation.

Alhaji Banda who spoke exclusively to Joy News’ Seyram Abla Desouza, attributed the collapse of Ghana Airways to managerial shortcomings, saying; the idea that such ventures are seen as national cakes, throws a mammoth wrench to any possibility of success.

He underscored the need for privatization and the employment of entrepreneurial skills in the airline industry.

Meanwhile, a former diplomat and statesman, K.B Asante who was a Board Chairman of Ghana Airways when it was set up under the Nkrumah regime, is asking government to conduct investigations to ascertain the cause of the collapse of Ghana Airways.

K.B. Asante who also spoke on the platform dispelled notion that government enterprises cannot function effectively. He said, governments must enact laws that govern such enterprises and they must ensure the proper enforcement of these laws.

He added that, the success of a national airline depends on commitment of members of management board but not private or public-private partnership.