The Minority in Parliament has called for an independent audit of the GH¢49.72 million spent on evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa, citing discrepancies in documents provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, made the demand on Sunday, October 11, 2026, following a review of documents supplied by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request.
The Minority says its examination identified expenditure amounting to GH¢16.42 million that requires further clarification, including questions about payments to returnees, flight records and duplicated entries.
According to Mr Ayeh, the government reported that 1,964 Ghanaians were evacuated and that each received GH¢5,000 as a reintegration grant and GH¢500 for transportation.
However, the Minority claims only 824 names matched across the registers for the two payments, raising questions about how the allowances were documented for the remaining beneficiaries.
The caucus also questioned discrepancies in flight records. It said the documents reviewed accounted for 926 people transported on chartered flights and 247 through itemised commercial flight records, bringing the total to 1,173—791 fewer than the reported number of evacuees.
Further concerns relate to alleged duplicate entries and the inclusion of 442 minors in the reintegration payment register. The Minority wants clarification on how payments involving the children were handled.
The evacuation exercise followed xenophobic attacks in South Africa and ran from May 27 to September 4, 2026. The government reported a total cost of GH¢49,721,786, comprising GH¢33,721,786 in direct government funding and GH¢16 million contributed by Engineers & Planners.
The Minority wants an independent accounting firm to examine the records and publish its findings.
