News:
December 19, 2024
Minority Chief Whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza has accused the outgoing Akufo-Addo administration of fleecing Ghanaians with the E-gate initiative at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
He said that whereas it took the previous Mahama administration $250 million to build the entire Terminal 3 at the KIA, the Akufo-Addo administration spent $147 million to provide just the E-gate alone.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday, December 18, he said “The Vice President went to the airport attempting to launch something called e-gate. The truth is that the thing has been part of Terminal 3 at KIA. The debate was how it would be activated. The news of the activation of the gate should have been welcoming news; but the disaster and the embarrassment it cost. It is basically a new create, loot and share which the Vice President should have known better”.
“President Mahama spent $250 million to build the entire Terminal 3 at KIA but Vice President Bawumia actually looked on when an entity in this country proposed that the e-gate alone would be $200 million dollars. That amount has been revised to $150 million and today we are told it is still around $147million. What will be the justification for this? The Ministry of Finance and Ghana Immigration Service are in a rush to activate this and allow a private entity to fleece the people of this country.”
The E-gate system was expected to grant smooth and easy passage for passengers on arrival at the airport. It was thus expected to improve turnaround time for passengers on arrival. It is also expected to help check and deal with miscreants who may want to enter the country illegally.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com