There is confusion over the future of Ghana Airways with media reports linking the national airline with separate media reports suggesting Ghana could lose its majority shares in the airline while another say government is unprepared to lose its majority stake in GhanaAir.
The National Concord quoting sources from the Road and Transport Ministry said there was no truth the Independent report of last Friday that Nationwide has been selected as partners for the national carrier.
Ken Anku, head of Public Relations at the Ministry said: ?I dare those who claim that Nationwide and some smaller airlines have been selected to come out with concrete evidence and facts to back their assertions, and to name the other airlines if the source of their information is credible.?
The Concord said instead four companies have been short listed as potential partners for the troubled airline following a selective bidding process to find solutions to the problems plaguing the airline.
The companies are Fidelity Consortium which is made up of KLM and Kenya Airways, Ghanair Partners, Ghana International Airline and Solutions Incorporated.
Anku explained that there was no way Ghana would be a minority stakeholder in the proposed partnership under review since Ghana was a signatory to the Chicago Convention, which requires that for a carrier to fly the flag of a country, at least the government of that country, its citizen, or a corporate entity from that country must have a minimum 50 per cent stake in the airline.
He said government?s position on the airline is that it wants a partner willing to take a minimum 20 % equity stake in the airline, with a maximum stake.
The Concord report is at sharp variance with that of the Independent who report on Monday that reports that Ghanair chief executive Phillip Owusu is on the verge of signing a what the paper calls a bogus five-year deal with Global Air of Australia that would hand them greater control of the airline for five years.
The first part of the deal according to the paper was signed by the Ghanair chief executive without the knowledge of the airlines board of directors.
