Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has maintained that the Minority is not accusing Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa of wrongdoing over the expenditure on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 17, 2026, Mr Jinapor said the caucus was seeking an audit to clarify what it considers discrepancies in the ministry’s expenditure records.
He explained that the Minority reviewed a report of more than 200 pages submitted by the minister and identified portions it believed required further scrutiny.
“The Minister provided a more than 200-page report to the committee. We (the minority) undertook some analysis of the report the Minister provided and found some portions of the report which we found anomalous. Based on that, we asked for an audit of the report and the expenditure. I am on record to say we have not accused the Minister of wrongdoing,” he said.
Mr Jinapor stressed that the call for an audit should not be interpreted as an allegation of misappropriation or embezzlement.
“I am on record to have said that we are not even suggesting that there is any misappropriation or embezzlement; we simply say there are some discrepancies, and so let's ask for an audit,” he added.
His comments came as Mr Ablakwa defended the evacuation expenditure on the same programme, using a PowerPoint presentation to explain the figures and insisting that no money was missing.
The operation brought 1,964 Ghanaians home between May 27 and September 4, 2026, following renewed xenophobic attacks and intimidation against foreign nationals in South Africa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs put the total cost at GH¢49,721,786.
