DEBATE - Ghana International Airlines can only be saved through divestiture
GOOD AFTERNOON, Honorable Chairperson, Dean of Students, Distinguished student leaders, fellow debaters, ladies and gentlemen.
“In the state of the industry address by Giovanni Bisignani; CEO of the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) - the global regulatory body for airlines states that “the African continent has recorded the highest rate of recovery in profits (6%) after the global recession. Any nation would immensely benefit if it invests enough into any flag carrier or its civil aviation authority. Thus I come to stand against the motion “Ghana International Airlines can only be saved through divestiture.”
Mr. Chairman, please permit me to begin with a brief history of Ghana International Airlines. It was set up in 2004 as a partnership between the Government of Ghana and a group of private international investors. A team of executives led by Ralph Atkin, founder of SkyWest Airlines in the United States was installed, which also included Brian Presbury, the former CEO of Kenya Airways. Ghana International Airlines commenced operations on 29 October, 2005.
It is owned by the Ghanaian government (70%) and US consortium (GIA-USA) (30%), but the shareholders have been engaged in a protracted legal dispute since 2006. The airline had 168 employees as at March 2008. Source: Wikipedia.org
Deducing from this, we realize that the Ghanaian Government had an upper hand with a higher portion of the shares and thus the higher say or voice when it comes to management decisions. Our only National Carrier - GIA (Accra) suspended operations on April 29, 2010 stranding passengers. Why? Because Astraeus Airlines pulled back its leased aircraft due to our unpaid debts. GIA never had its own air plane. The company was using a leased air plane. The owners of the leased air plane had to finally take it back after GIA didn’t prove to have the capacity of paying back anytime sooner. But, can our National Airline be saved only through divestiture? NO!
What is DIVESTITURE
“In the state of the industry address by Giovanni Bisignani; CEO of the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) - the global regulatory body for airlines states that “the African continent has recorded the highest rate of recovery in profits (6%) after the global recession. Any nation would immensely benefit if it invests enough into any flag carrier or its civil aviation authority. Thus I come to stand against the motion “Ghana International Airlines can only be saved through divestiture.”
Mr. Chairman, please permit me to begin with a brief history of Ghana International Airlines. It was set up in 2004 as a partnership between the Government of Ghana and a group of private international investors. A team of executives led by Ralph Atkin, founder of SkyWest Airlines in the United States was installed, which also included Brian Presbury, the former CEO of Kenya Airways. Ghana International Airlines commenced operations on 29 October, 2005.
It is owned by the Ghanaian government (70%) and US consortium (GIA-USA) (30%), but the shareholders have been engaged in a protracted legal dispute since 2006. The airline had 168 employees as at March 2008. Source: Wikipedia.org
Deducing from this, we realize that the Ghanaian Government had an upper hand with a higher portion of the shares and thus the higher say or voice when it comes to management decisions. Our only National Carrier - GIA (Accra) suspended operations on April 29, 2010 stranding passengers. Why? Because Astraeus Airlines pulled back its leased aircraft due to our unpaid debts. GIA never had its own air plane. The company was using a leased air plane. The owners of the leased air plane had to finally take it back after GIA didn’t prove to have the capacity of paying back anytime sooner. But, can our National Airline be saved only through divestiture? NO!
What is DIVESTITURE