The controversy surrounding President John Dramani Mahama’s use of his brother’s private jet for official travel deepened on Saturday as analysts, politicians, and academics offered sharply divided assessments on whether the arrangement constitutes a legal or ethical violation.
Energy analyst and Chief Executive of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi, argued that while the arrangement may not be illegal, the optics carry their own political cost. Speaking on TV3’s Key Points programme, he said public institutions are ultimately judged by the standards people perceive them to meet, not only those they technically satisfy. “How it appears to the public is more important,” Hosi said, urging government officials to be more deliberate about managing perceptions around their conduct.
That view was contested by a separate anti-corruption expert, who drew a firm legal distinction between appearance and fact. The expert argued that conflict of interest is a defined legal concept with clear thresholds, and that the mere appearance of a conflict does not constitute a crime or an actual breach of law. The analyst nonetheless acknowledged that institutional clarity on the matter would serve the public interest.
Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Joshua Jebuntie Zaato, offered the most direct verdict of the day. He rejected the idea that public relations management could neutralise the ethical dimensions of the arrangement. “No matter the public relations spin you put on it, you cannot wash away the conflict of interest in this matter,” he stated, maintaining that a conflict of interest is clearly established given the close relationship between the President and the aircraft’s owner, businessman Ibrahim Mahama.
On the political front, former Sekondi Member of Parliament (MP) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) figure Andrew Egyapa Mercer used the controversy to highlight what he described as a contradiction in the governing National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) position. He noted that the Presidency had previously declared the official presidential jet to be in pristine condition, which he said makes the continued use of a private aircraft difficult to justify. “We were told that the presidential jet was in pristine condition, so what has changed?” Mercer asked. He also recalled that the NDC had previously criticised former President Nana Akufo-Addo for using chartered flights while the state aircraft was reportedly serviceable.
The debate continues against a wider constitutional backdrop. The Minority in Parliament last week announced plans to petition the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over the arrangement, citing Article 284 of the 1992 Constitution and linking the matter to Ibrahim Mahama’s business interests in the ongoing Damang Mine acquisition process. The government has maintained that the arrangement saves the state money and that costs beyond fuel and landing fees remain the private responsibility of the aircraft’s owner.
