On 6/10/03 2:37 PM, "Aggo Akyea" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/2978026.stm
> 
> Published: 2003/06/10 11:43:25 GMT
> 
> Ghana airways seeks divine intervention
> By Kwaku Sakyi-Addo
> BBC, Accra
> 
> The staff of Ghana Airways have now turned to God to keep the airline in the
> skies after trying every management trick in the MBA curriculum.
> 
> Last week the management and staff held a three-hour prayer session where they
> sought celestial intervention in the desperate affairs of one of Africa's
> first national carriers.
> 
> They sang, prayed and cited the scriptures under the direction of a Ghanaian
> evangelist who flew in from London.
> 
> Ghana Airways owes more than $160m to a variety of creditors.
> 
> It is unable to keep up with payments and the government, which wholly owns
> it, says it cannot bail her out.
> 
> The money is wanted elsewhere.
> 
> A wing and a prayer
> 
> Ghana airways owns five aircraft, but only one is in the air.
> 
> It is a DC 10 which does the long haul flights to Europe and America.
> 
> But it has no in-flight entertainment.
> 
> The airline has a stronger presence in West Africa where a lease aircraft hops
> to national capitals - from Lagos to Dakar.
> 
> Yet it is notorious for not flying on time or not flying at all.
> 
> Sometimes there is no money to pay for fuel.
> 
> Still, it employs nearly 1,500 people. It has more drivers than it has
> vehicles and more typists than keyboards.
> 
> Every few months there is a new management and a board chairman, but none of
> them have managed to keep Ghana Airways from its free fall.
> 
> Now that it has run out of options, Ghana airways hopes to take off on a wing
> and a prayer.
> 
> © BBC MMIII
> 
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> 
This is not good news, although I can't say I'm surprised. The bigger issue
for me is that I have plans to fly from Dakar to Accra in late July and as
far as I know, Ghana Airways is the only way to do it. Does anyone know of
another airline connecting those two cities?

Mariama Ross

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