Did McDan ‘fight’ cost Kwakwa his job as Airport MD?

When President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2019 directed the sacking of the then Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company, John Dekyem Attafuah, the president further redirected the appointment of Yaw Kwakwa who was then a deputy to take over the position.

While no reason was given per the official release by the Minister for Aviation during the announcement of Mr Dekyem’s sacking, a publication by Mynewsgh.com attributed his ousting to autocratic leadership and working to undermine the government.

The appointment of Yaw Kwakwa according to some workers at the Airport was expected to bring a new change in leadership and steer the state-owned company towards greater heights.

Barely three years after his appointment, the Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah who is now in charge of the aviation sector has announced the sacking of Yaw Kwakwa as the MD for the Ghana Airport Company on the directions of the president.

Despite the absence of any definite reasons in the said sack letter, one may wonder, considering the chronicles of events that have happened in connection with the Ghana Airport Company Limited within the past few weeks, whether or not it has anything to do with McDan’s private jet terminal.

McDan sets up private jet terminal at KIA

McDan Aviations, owned by business magnate, Daniel McKorley, after acquiring the Terminal one of the Kotoka International Airport, in 2021 announced further plans to commence private jet services at the terminal in early 2022.

Initial plans for the McDan Commercial Private Jet Services was to include 3 jets and one Helicopter whilst arrangements would be made for the addition of a Bombardier, Chaligerer, BV Jet and helicopters to offer Air-ambulance Medical and domestic tourism.

On January 28, 2022, the McDan Private Jet Terminal officially opened for business following a short ceremony.

Ahead of the opening ceremony however, the Managing Director of GACL, Yaw Kwakwa, in a letter to McDan, demanded the suspension of the planned opening.

In the letter, Kwakwa raised concerns such as “disregard for the norms and business in the aviation sector which require strict adherence to safety and security rules” on the part of McDan in its operations at KIA.

Citing several breaches on the part of McDan Aviation on its activities leading to the inauguration, the MD directed the postponement of the event until the concerns were addressed.

“Given all the above reasons, GACL is unable to support the inaugural event this time. We therefore ask you to postpone the event until we iron out all the necessary issues and you prove to us that you fully understand how things are supposed to be done in the aviation sector in the interest of safety and security,” the letter by Kwakwa stated.

Despite the directive by the Airport Management, McDan Aviation on Friday, January 28, 2022, went ahead with the opening of its private jet terminal.

Following the disregard for the directive, Mr Yaw Kwakwa in another letter dated January 31, 2022, directed McDan Aviation to suspend its operations at the Kotoka International Airport.

“We refer to our earlier discussions and subsequent directive to suspend the inauguration of the Private Jet Terminal at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) until all the necessary operational requirements and obligations are met.

“We note with concern, your failure to comply with the directive despite the outstanding issues on the prior terms and conditions for the use and operations of Terminal 1 as a Private Jet Terminal,” the MD noted.

McDan was thus directed to hand over keys to Terminal One by close of day, Monday, January 31, 2022.

“Management has consequently directed the suspension of your use of Terminal 1 until further notice.

“You are kindly requested to relinquish the keys to enable Management undertake a Joint Inventory by close of business day, Monday 31 January, 2022,” the now sacked MD of GACL directed.

Kwakwa’s sacking linked to McDan feud

While Kwakwa’s decision to suspend McDan’s operations has been attributed to non-compliance to rules and due processes, his sudden sack is raising questions about whether his interference in the private business man’s operations may have been a major contributor.

This may possibly be because of the timing, records of immediate past events between McDan and the Airport Company Head and the fact that the letter somewhat did not detail the reasons for his sack, allowing room for more questions.

Former Deputy Minister for Information and member of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Felix Kwakye Ofosu for instance has reacted to the news.
In a tweet, he questions whether Kwakwa was fired for standing up to ensure due process is followed.

“For standing up against clear wrongdoing in the matter of the private jet lounge at the Kotoka International Airport, the GACL CEO gets fired by President Akufo-Addo who has proven to value his cronies more than due process and compliance with rules,” the former deputy minister stated in a tweet.