Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published the names and signatures of all 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa, together with records showing payments made to them.
The release follows claims by the Minority that more than GH¢16 million from the evacuation budget cannot be accounted for.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the operation cost GH¢49.72 million in total. The Government of Ghana provided GH¢33.72 million, while Engineers and Planners contributed GH¢16 million.
In a report, Mr Ablakwa said the spending covered chartered and commercial flights, ground transportation, food, hotel accommodation in South Africa, medical treatment and hospitalisation. It also included reintegration and transportation allowances for those brought back to Ghana.
Of the total expenditure, GH¢38.8 million was used for flights, accommodation, transportation and other associated services. A further GH¢10.8 million was allocated to reintegration and transportation allowances.
Every evacuee, including infants, received GH¢5,000 as a reintegration allowance and GH¢500 towards transportation, the minister said.
“So far no Ghanaian evacuee from South Africa has denied ever receiving both reintegration and transportation allowances,” he said.
Mr Ablakwa rejected the Minority’s claim that either GH¢16,423,470 or GH¢16,302,586 remained unaccounted for, saying both figures were inaccurate.
He also challenged the assertion that only 247 Ghanaians had returned to Ghana on commercial flights. The minister questioned how the Minority could claim that 442 minors had received the allowances while also maintaining that the number of evacuees who arrived via commercial flights was only 247.
Documents provided to support the expenditure included passenger manifests, flight tickets, boarding passes, receipts and payment records signed by recipients, according to Mr Ablakwa.
The publication of the records comes as the government faces continued scrutiny over how funds for the South Africa evacuation were managed and recorded.
