Executive Secretary of the Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada, has welcomed the return of Ghana’s presidential jet but insists that the country must demand full, independent certification before declaring the aircraft safe for presidential use.
His comments follow reports confirming that the Falcon presidential jet is back in Ghana after undergoing eight months of compulsory maintenance and extensive repairs at the Dassault Falcon Service facility in Paris—work that included a mandatory 24-month, 1,600-hour inspection, the discovery of defects, and manufacturer-assisted repairs.
Speaking on the matter on the Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, November 16, Mr. Akwada said the return of the aircraft is positive news, but cautioned that Ghana cannot rely solely on internal assurances from the Ghana Armed Forces or repair summaries from France.
“It is good news to hear that the jet is back, but before we can make any concrete statement on its safety or otherwise, it’s very important that we have an independent certification body to let us understand objectively what was established in relation to what the Ghana Armed Forces communicated to us,” he said.
He stressed the need for transparency regarding the work carried out on the aircraft. “We need to know what kind of safety audit, certification, or maintenance routine the aircraft went through. Then we will be able to appreciate and concretely say it is safe for the President to use.”
According to Mr. Akwada, without independent verification and full disclosure, public confidence will remain uncertain.
“In the absence of that, everything else will be rumour and rhetoric. We need to have full disclosure on the scope of the work done, the certified bodies involved, and the post-repair airworthiness status. Only then can we speak objectively and without any shadow of doubt,” he explained.
He urged authorities to treat any unofficial information on the aircraft’s condition as hearsay until a transparent certification process is completed.
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