-BY Daniel Bampoe
The return of the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, from a medical trip in London has sparked renewed scrutiny and public discourse over government spending and transparency, particularly regarding the use of private air travel for high-ranking officials.
Vice President Opoku-Agyemang, who had been receiving medical treatment in the United Kingdom for several weeks, landed at the Kotoka International Airport on Thursday afternoon aboard a VistaJet—a luxury private charter company known to charge tens of thousands of dollars per hour in flight fees.
The use of the private jet has stirred controversy, particularly given Ghana’s current economic constraints and government pledges to reduce public spending.
Political commentator and columnist P.K. Sarpong, in an open letter addressed to the Member of Parliament for North Tongu and current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, raised several pointed questions about the financial and logistical decisions surrounding the Vice President’s travel arrangements.
Sarpong referenced Ablakwa’s well-known past role as a vocal critic of the use of expensive chartered flights by government officials during the Akufo-Addo administration.
At the time, Ablakwa was lauded by many for his relentless pursuit of accountability, regularly filing urgent questions in Parliament and publishing detailed cost analyses of presidential and ministerial air travel.
Now that Ablakwa serves in government, Sarpong is calling on him to maintain that same level of scrutiny and transparency.
He posed a number of specific questions:
1. How much did the VistaJet flight cost the state?
2. Why was Ghana’s official presidential jet not used for this trip?
3. Given that President John Mahama was in town, why wasn’t the state aircraft dispatched to bring the Vice President home?
4. Is the presidential jet no longer airworthy or in optimal condition?
5. Why did the Vice President not opt for a commercial airline, even in Business or First Class, if the presidential jet was unavailable?
Sarpong insists these are legitimate questions that require public answers, especially as the costs are ultimately borne by Ghanaian taxpayers.
“Your prying eyes cannot be dimmed now simply because you are in power,” he wrote, directly challenging Ablakwa to be consistent in his calls for fiscal accountability.
The controversy has reignited debates about the appropriate use of state resources by government officials, particularly in light of economic pressures and calls for austerity.
Critics argue that while health-related travel for public officials is understandable, transparency surrounding the means and costs of such travel must be non-negotiable.
Supporters of the Vice President, however, have urged caution, emphasizing that the Vice President’s health and safety were paramount and that certain considerations might have justified the use of a private aircraft
Nonetheless, they agree that the government must clarify whether state funds were used and why a private flight was deemed necessary.
