GACL boss was up for ‘sacking’ before new board came in – Presidential staffer

Presidential staffer says sacking was long coming

Allegations linger that sacking is related to McDan Aviation impasse

Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe, a staffer at the presidency has waded into the sacking of the Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, GACL, Yaw Kwakwa on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.

According to him, Kwakwa was already on his way out from GACL after the first term of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.

He added that the dismissed GACL boss himself knows that the sack has nothing to do with the recent fracas with McDan Aviation.

“Yaw Kwakwa knew his time was up long before this, even before the current board was inaugurated when his name was left out. He knows it has nothing to do with McDan Aviation. It was the Transport Minister who ordered for the launch of McDan Private Jet Investigation,” he stated in a social media post.

The post was accompanied by the viral February 4 dismissal letter that was signed by the Minister of Transport and addressed to the Board Chairman. Copied in the letter are Secretaries to the President and his Vice and to the Chief of Staff.

The dismissal of Kwakwa from GACL

A letter signed by Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah indicated that the Yaw Kwakwa has been relieved of his position.

Portions of the letter stated, “His Excellency the President, per letter No. 0P S127/22/104, dated 31st January 2022, has directed the appointment of Mr. Yaw Kwakwa as Managing Director of the Ghana Airport’s Company Limited be terminated.”

Yaw Kwakwa heard of his dismissal from the media shortly after he had led a Parliamentary Committee to tour the new private terminal built by McDan Aviation at the Kotoka International Aiport, KIA.

The Deputy Minister for Transport, Alhassan Tampuli Sulemana, who earlier shielded Kwakwa from media queries later confirmed the termination of the latter’s contract with the GACL.

Addressing the press, he indicated that the letter was addressed to the board chairman who will then convey the message at a board meeting before taking the necessary steps.

“…It’s addressed to the Board Chairman, so that is how it’s supposed to be done because it’s a company and its regulated under the company’s Act so the letter is written to the Board Chairman and the Board chairman will now convene a meeting at which all the necessary step will be undertaken in pursuant to the company’s act. So it’s confirmed.”

He however explained that the reasons for his dismissal were not stated in the sack letter because such decisions are at the discretion of the president.

“Have you sighted a copy of his appointment letter? The appointment letter never stated why he was appointed I don’t know why it should be started why he was dismissed.

“So the president has the prerogative to appoint and he has the prerogative to relieve people of their positions. This is something that has been going on in this country not today, nothing has changed,” he said.