Majority defends GH¢49.7m South Africa evacuation cost

THE Majority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee has disputed claims by the Minority Caucus regarding the amount spent on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

The Minority Caucus, at a press conference on Sunday, said records provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs left more than GH¢16.4 million unaccounted for, out of the GH¢49.7 million reportedly spent by the government on the evacuation exercise.

However, the Chairman of the Committee and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma South, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, told a press conference in Parliament yesterday that the total expenditure remained GH¢49.7 million, dismissing the Minority’s claims.

He said the Committee had in its possession extensive financial documentation, including receipts and supporting records covering chartered flights, commercial airline tickets, transportation, feeding, accommodation and other logistical arrangements undertaken by Ghana’s High Commission in South Africa.

Mr Vanderpuije added that the Committee had carefully examined the report submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, describing it as a comprehensive and credible account of the evacuation exercise.

He challenged the Minority Caucus to account for evacuation exercises undertaken under the previous administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, including those conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

“As Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I can confirm receipt of a copy of a letter referenced CC/1 dated 17th September, 2026, addressed to the Auditor-General, inviting an independent and comprehensive audit of evacuation exercises undertaken from 2017 onwards, including COVID-19 evacuation of 2020, the Ukraine evacuation in 2022, the Sudan evacuation of 2023, the South Africa evacuation of 2026, and any other evacuation exercise the Auditor-General considers relevant,” he said.

According to him, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had sought to brief the Committee on the evacuation exercise, but members of the Minority Caucus boycotted the briefing.

Mr Vanderpuije welcomed a comprehensive audit of the evacuation exercises, saying it would establish the facts and ensure that the expenditure of successive administrations was subjected to the same standards of accountability.

For her part, the MP for Salaga South and a member of the Majority Caucus on the Committee, Mrs Ibrahimah Mohammed Zuwera, said detailed documentation examined by the Committee showed that 1,964 Ghanaians had been successfully evacuated to Ghana.

She said the documents also contained the identities of those evacuated, including minors, as well as their signatures, adding that the information would be made available to the press.

Mrs Zuwera further stated that each evacuee received GH¢5,000 as a reintegration allowance and GH¢500 as a transportation allowance.

She said the figures cited by the Minority contained inconsistencies, questioning the accuracy of the amounts stated in its press statement.

“In paragraph 19 of their statement, they claim GH¢16.4 million and in paragraph 22 of the same statement, they claim GH¢16.3 million. So clearly, the Minority is not on top of the numbers that they are working with,” she said.

BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY

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