Politician under fire for allegedly corrupt use of public funds: 'Those who were expecting change should forget it'

A Ghanaian politician called out President John Mahama for allegedly using public funds to buy a private jet.

The second-most populous nation in West Africa is in the midst of a $2.3 billion bailout after an economic collapse. This is also just its latest presidential aircraft controversy in a string of them, according to The Africa Report.

Former Minister of Information and lawyer Fatimatu Abubakar told Movement TV that Mahama had misappropriated money meant to remake Ghana, MyNewsGh.com reported.

"Those who were expecting change should forget it," she said. "They are using some of the 24-hour economy money to buy a private jet. They won't be able to reduce electricity tariffs, and nothing significant will happen with these first and second budgets."

After taking office for a second nonconsecutive term, Mahama banned government officials from all but essential travel and said first-class trips were out of the question, per AfricaNews.

He has flown commercially but was also criticized for using a private jet owned by his brother to travel, according to The Africa Report. 

Private jet travel is exorbitantly expensive, though the administration has said it needs two presidential jets and four military helicopters to shore up an aging fleet. The cost was pegged at 13.1 billion cedis ($1.2 billion).

In August, a government helicopter crash killed eight people, including Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science, and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.

"Ghanaians did not vote for a government that prioritises jets over jobs or aircraft over affordability," Samuel Abu Jinapor, an opposition lawmaker, told The Africa Report. 

"At a time when families cannot meet basic needs, this level of expenditure is not only tone-deaf — it is morally unjustifiable."

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The current presidential plane, a Falcon 900EX, is 16 years old. A new one wouldn't be ready for nearly three years, The Africa Report said. 

A former defense minister called the current plane "too small, too limited, and too unreliable," while an aviation expert said it created "avoidable security and safety risks."

A government website stated the 24-hour economy initiative "is a national production-led reset of Ghana's post-colonial, import-dependent, low-value raw material exporting economy into a modern, self-reliant, and globally competitive economy that works around the clock to deliver productivity, sustainable growth, jobs, and food security for all."

Many world leaders have landed in hot water for their use of private jets and the subsequent negative impacts they have on everyday people and the environment. According to Oxfam, a private jet flight from London to Paris produces six times more planet-warming pollution than a standard commercial flight.

"When you cannot pay existing workers, talking about buying jets is not just bad economics — it is bad leadership," Jinapor said. "Every cedi spent on luxury aircraft is a cedi taken away from hospitals, classrooms and the fight against unemployment."

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