Ghana is nearing the completion of negotiations with Boeing over the creation of a new national airline, Ghana’s ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, has said.
Smith said the government was also seeking private investment for the proposed carrier, although no launch date or ownership structure has been announced.
“We are in talks with Boeing. The deal is nearing completion,” he told JoyNews in an interview with Desmond Danso.
“We are working to ensure that Ghana has a national airline that we can all be proud of,” he added.
His comments follow recent discussions during which Boeing assured President John Dramani Mahama that it would continue supporting the establishment and operation of a national carrier.
Smith said restoring a flag carrier was an important legacy goal for President Mahama before he leaves office. He argued that travellers would rather use a Ghanaian airline than pay high fares to fly with British Airways, Delta or United.
Ghana has been without a national airline since Ghana Airways collapsed in 2004. Ghana International Airlines, which later operated as a replacement, stopped flying in 2010. The government’s latest initiative followed an agreement with Boeing on a roadmap for the project.
Military training proposal
During the same interview, Smith proposed compulsory military training lasting one or two years for young people leaving school.
He said the programme should be supported by the government and designed to promote discipline and reduce idleness among young people.
“Why don’t we let the young people who come out of school do two years or so in military training? Just to sort of, if you like, put some discipline in people,” Smith said.
“The devil finds work for idle hands,” he added.
Smith suggested that the scheme could be connected to the National Service Authority and include a revival of the Workers’ Brigade. Under that model, trainees would take part in large-scale agricultural production and receive wages from food sold in regional and international markets.
“It must be compulsory. Let’s say one year,” he said.
Call for diaspora investment
Smith also discussed the situation facing young Ghanaians living in the United States. He recently said that five Ghanaians had died in the United States since he took office.
He said many Ghanaian migrants were unemployed and concerned that they could be detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I went to Worcester in Massachusetts and there are about 45,000 Ghanaians in Worcester alone. And ask me whether they are working,” he said.
“No. They’re not.”
“And they are even afraid of their shadows that ICE will pick them. So, they are spending most of their time in their churches,” he added.
With inflation and the exchange rate stabilised, Smith said the government’s attention had turned to increasing production in mining, energy, agriculture and manufacturing.
He urged Ghanaians living abroad to return through partnerships with foreign investors, repeating his call for a stronger domestic economy capable of keeping young people in Ghana.
“We’re asking our brothers and sisters in the diaspora, you want to come back home, we encourage you, but come in partnership with an investor,” he said.
