Greenstreet to pull a surprise

The immediate past General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, was purportedly spotted at the Kotoka International Airport last weekend clearing imported special device and hydrogen peroxide fuel, said to be known as a Jet Pack/Rocket Belt.

A picture snapped, apparently without his knowledge, shows Mr Kobina Greenstreet pushing the items alongside another strange wheel chair that reportedly contained the aerospace machine.

This is the kind of flying machine that millions of people saw in the James Bond 007 movies and at the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984.

The Jet Pack or Rocket Belt is the most spectacular flying machine ever developed. It is a small personal propulsion device strapped to the back of an individual, him or her to rapidly and safely fly or leap over short distances like small rivers or ravines, and landing safely.

Checks by DAILY GUIDE indicates that during the early 1960s the US military seriously studied these devices as potential aids for combat soldiers to use in tight tactical situations and to cross mine fields.

The idea of a workable Rocket Belt or Jet Pack is credited to Wendell Moore, an engineer working at Bell Aerosystems, and the design of the rocket power unit is credited to James C. McCormick of Buffalo, NY.

The US Army negotiated with Bell for the fabrication of the SRLD (small rocket lifting device) and a contract was awarded to the Army’s Transportation, Research and Engineering Command (TRECOM) for military feasibility studies and trials. Moore was named Bell’s Technical Director for the project. Under the contract, a-280lb thrust rocket motor was made and tested. Ninety percent hydrogen peroxide was chosen as the safest fuel for personnel use as no combustion took place. There was only expulsion of highly pressurized oxygen and water vapour, while the operator wore a form-fitting fiberglass corset for safety.

The 20+ second duration of the rocket fuel required for the belt was found to be too short-lived for the device to be practical for combat, and the idea was abandoned.

The question is, what is the purpose of the importation of this device by the two-term former General Secretary of the CPP, who decided not to contest at the recent party congress in Sunyani, and subsequently handed over to the new leadership headed by Professor Edmund Delle?

The questions are all the more relevant, bearing in mind the upcoming CPP presidential nominations; and rumours are rife within the rank and file of the party that the former General Secretary might throw his flying wheelchair into the ring.

Past evidence is compelling as at previous CPP congresses and at his attempt at winning the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat for the party in 2004, he used a standing wheelchair using special hydraulic systems that were imported from Switzerland. During that campaign he set a record for raising the CPP vote by more than 5,000%. Former deputy minister of Communications, Victoria Hamah, apparently was his campaign manager at that time in Volta Hall.

The controversial former General Secretary, fondly known as General Diabolic within the CPP, it appears, is full of surprises. DAILY GUIDE recently reported that he made history as the first African to participate in the 5th International Para Trap Grand Prix Shooting Competition on behalf of Ghana’s Black Snipers.

Investigations reveal that after Milan, Kobina Greenstreet was in a South American country, presumably concerning the strange aeronautical device.

Again, only last week the Insight newspaper carried a front page headline suggesting that Greenstreet might pull a surprise in the CPP presidential race.

All attempts to reach the lawyer have proved futile as all his phones were off; but investigations reveal that Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr, aka Kabila, is the spokesperson for the former General Secretary, but as at press time yesterday, Mr Bomfeh was not available for comment.