Ghana ready to evacuate more citizens from South Africa if situation worsens – Ablakwa

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says Ghana is ready to evacuate more of its citizens from South Africa if the security situation gets worse.

Speaking on TV3, Mr Ablakwa said the country’s mission in Pretoria has sent the ministry a report describing the situation as “quite a dire situation”, with anti-immigrant sentiment still strong.

He said the problem is partly linked to a recent ruling by South Africa’s apex court on asylum seekers.

The ministry’s Consular and Humanitarian Affairs Bureau is monitoring developments and checking on the welfare of Ghanaians who may need help, he said.

Mr Ablakwa said that the government has not ruled out further evacuations.

“It does not mean that if we have another wave, a deterioration of the situation and there are Ghanaians who need assistance, it does not mean that the door is shut and that we will not move in. We will indeed,” he said.

So far, 1,964 Ghanaians have been evacuated from South Africa in the most recent exercise. Across the world, more than 6,300 Ghanaians have been brought out of distress situations since last year, including from Libya, Myanmar and Cambodia, he said. He added that Ghana’s 72 diplomatic missions are watching the welfare of citizens in their host countries.

On Ghana’s petition to the African Union (AU) over attacks on foreign nationals, Mr Ablakwa said the AU has responded and the matter will be discussed at its next summit in January 2027. He declined to say much about the latest incident in South Africa so as not to prejudice those discussions.

He called on South African authorities to take stronger action to prevent further attacks on foreign nationals and to keep migrants safe.