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Slok Air in bankruptcy?
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Reports reaching the Daily Observer indicate that Slok Air International, a scheduled passenger airline, is owing its staff at least two months salary, amid fears of financial bankruptcy.
Our reporter who was at the Slok Air headquarters on Kairaba Avenue, met some staff who were grumbling about their unpaid salaries and allowances. Some of them pointed fingers at their superiors in the airline for the prolonged problems. One of the disgruntled staff accused the management of ignoring their plight, saying that they have been working under difficult circumstances without a pay. Many of the expatriates from Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry and a number of other countries, lamented that they are suffering, as they cannot pay their rents and other bills. “They have promised to pay the two months salaries by starting with the junior staff, which is not quite certain. The promises are yet to be fulfiled,” an angry staff told the Daily Observer. Meanwhile, an insider hinted to this paper that the management was preoccupied with off-setting its outstanding debts, before paying the salaries. Contacted to shed more light on the matter, Clifford Emoh, the chief executive officer of Slok Air International, denied any problem at the airline, but was quick to admit that their operations have ceased. “We are trying to pay salaries today,” he said, but declined to comment further on the concerns raised by the staff. When contacted, Senor Thomas, the managing director of the International Insurance Company (IIC) and a member of the Board of Directors of Slok Air International, refused to comment on the issue, adding that she can only answer matters of the IIC. Slok Air Gambia was established in November 2004. It was originally named Slok Air and was formed by the Slok Group in Nigeria. Its air operators certificate was suspended in March 2004 by the Nigerian government and the airline was subsequently dissolved in November 2004. In the same month the airline was reformed as Slok Air Gambia. Service was halted in the end of December 2007 due to maintenance and resumed mid-February 2008. But problems still lurch on at the airline. Author: by Sheriff Barry
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