When you walk through Terminal 1 at the Kotoka International Airport today, something feels wrong.

The private jet terminal that was active with activities just months ago now stands quiet.

The equipment is gone.

The workers are at home. And a Ghanaian man who invested millions of his own money into this country is watching his dream collapse.

This is not just about one businessman.

This is about whether Ghana truly wants to build its own people.

McDan Aviation did something no Ghanaian had done before.

They took an abandoned facility at Terminal 1 and transformed it into this country's first indigenous private jet terminal. They invested millions of dollars to build something we could all be proud of, a facility that attracted business travellers from across the world and put Ghana on the map for executive aviation.

Now, let us talk about this debt issue.

Yes, McDan Aviation experienced some payment delays; however which business in Ghana today has not faced challenges? Which entrepreneur has not struggled at some point?

Franklin Cudjoe, the President of IMANI Africa, said something that should make all of us stop and think.

He said businesses, just like countries, have the right to pay their debts over time.

He described the decision to destroy McDan's business as "dangerously myopic".

And he is right.

If every business that faced a temporary cash flow problem were shut down and kicked out, half the companies in Ghana would close tomorrow.

The question is not whether a business falls behind. The question is whether it steps up to clear its debts.

McDan stepped up.

This revocation of the license is not really about debt.

When you look closely at what is happening, you begin to see the hand of powerful people pulling strings behind the scenes. There are individuals who want this terminal for themselves.

The plan for them is simple: push out the Ghanaian.

Bring in a foreign company. Use that foreign company as a front.

And let the powerful people behind it take all control of the private jet business at Terminal One.

But here is the thing, I suspect there are people with direct influence over the current Managing Director of GACL, Mrs Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare.

This person, because of his political connections and their say in whether the MD keeps his job, is using that leverage to push an agenda that benefits them personally.

The MD of GACL, who started under the previous administration and is still there, appears to be going along with this. And that is not helping matters at all.

What About the Reset Agenda?

President Mahama has been talking about the "Reset Agenda."

He has said it includes empowering and strengthening businesses to produce more so the whole country can benefit. He stood before the nation and said, "Ghana is back" and "Ghana is open for business".

But how does shutting down a Ghanaian-owned business that invested millions and employs Ghanaians fit into this reset? How does taking a facility from a local entrepreneur, which is likely to be handed to a foreign front company, show that Ghana is open for business?

The Reset Agenda is supposed to be about "people-first policy change". It is supposed to "completely dismantle criminal cabals operating in governance. 

The Law and the Contract

McDan Aviation has stated clearly that under their agreement with GACL, the airport authority is required to give a 90-day eviction notice before taking any action to remove them from the premises.

This clause was put in the contract specifically to protect the company's investment. You do not spend millions building a facility only to have someone kick you out overnight.

GACL claims they gave notice.

They say they issued a 90-day termination notice on January 10, 2025.

But McDan says the proper procedures were not followed.

More troubling is what happened on March 11, 2026. McDan Aviation says they had already filed court processes and served GACL with papers. Yet in the early hours of that morning, GACL officials entered the terminal and removed McDan's equipment and property.

But even if the legal timelines are disputed, the message this sends is terrible.

It says that state institutions can act first and ask questions later.

It says that if you have money and connections, you can push people out regardless of contracts and agreements.

McDan Aviation is now pursuing legal action.

They are asking the court to declare the termination unlawful and to award them damages for their losses.

But court cases take time. Meanwhile, a business is suffering. Workers are at home. Investments are wasting away.

Why This Must Be Reversed

First, because he invested here.

He took his resources and built something in his own country.

That kind of initiative should be celebrated, not punished.

Second, because he employs Ghanaians.

Most of the workers at that terminal are Ghanaians with a family to feed. Every job lost is another family pushed closer to the edge.

When we destroy local businesses, we destroy local livelihoods.

Third, because of the message it sends.

If a prominent Ghanaian businessman with resources and connections can be treated this way, what chance does a small entrepreneur have? The GaDangme coalition said in their press conference, "Today it may be McDan Aviation.

Tomorrow it could be another Ghanaian entrepreneur who has dared to invest in the future of this country".

Fourth, because the alternative is worse. If this terminal ends up being handed to a foreign company fronting for a powerful Ghanaian, what have we achieved?

We will have taken from a local businessman and given to the same people, using foreign names to hide their ownership. That is not progress. That is the same old corruption wearing a new mask.

Fifth, because the Reset Agenda demands it.

President Mahama cannot preach about empowering businesses while his appointees are destroying them. 

A Way Forward

First, GACL should immediately reverse the revocation and allow McDan Aviation to resume operations at Terminal One. Whatever debts remain can be worked out through a payment plan.

Businesses pay debts over time.

That is normal. That is how the world works.

Second, the President should look into who is behind this push to remove McDan. If there are powerful individuals using their influence to capture this business for themselves, they must be exposed and stopped.

The Reset Agenda includes dismantling criminal cabals in government.

This is a chance to prove that the promise is real.

Third, GACL and McDan should sit down and negotiate a resolution. Both sides have lawyers. Both sides have arguments. But at the end of the day, Ghana benefits more from a functioning private jet terminal than from a protracted legal battle that leaves the facility empty.

Fourth, the government must send a firm message that local investors will be protected.

If we want Ghanaians to invest in this country, they need to know their money is safe.

They need to know that political connections cannot be used to push them out of businesses they built with their own sweat and capital.

- Nii Marmah Boye