Member of Parliament for Akyem Oda and former Deputy Minister of Health, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the expenditure on Ghana’s emergency evacuation of citizens from South Africa, questioning the concerns over the scrutiny of financial documents relating to the operation.
In a social media post, the lawmaker appeared to challenge Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over the ongoing examination of records concerning the evacuation exercise.
“So why fret when your own documents are being perused for further and better particulars? SA evacuation and Goldbold 22 billion loss on my mind,” Mr Acquah wrote.
His comments come amid calls by the Minority Caucus in Parliament for a comprehensive audit of the GH¢49.72 million spent on the emergency evacuation exercise conducted between May 27 and September 4, 2026.
The controversy centres on questions raised by the Minority about the accounting of the funds, the number of people evacuated and the distribution of financial assistance to returnees.
The evacuation exercise was undertaken following reports of xenophobic violence against foreign nationals in parts of South Africa, which prompted efforts to bring affected Ghanaians home.
However, the Minority Caucus has raised concerns about what it describes as a GH¢16.4 million gap in the financial records associated with the operation.
The concerns have been championed by the Member of Parliament for Bosome Freho and Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh.
According to the Minority, documents obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) request have raised questions about the accounting of a substantial portion of the reported expenditure.
One of the issues identified concerns discrepancies between the officially reported figure of 1,964 repatriated Ghanaians and passenger manifests from commercial airlines, as well as records relating to the reintegration of returnees.
The Minority is also seeking clarification on the procedures used to verify and distribute reintegration grants of GH¢5,000 and transport stipends of GH¢500, particularly in relation to 442 registered minors.
Additionally, it wants a detailed breakdown of the funding sources, including the GH¢33.72 million allocated directly by the government and a reported GH¢16 million corporate contribution from Engineers & Planners, a company associated with businessman Ibrahim Mahama.
The Minority has called for an independent audit to establish how the funds were received, disbursed and accounted for.
Meanwhile, the Majority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, has rejected the Minority’s concerns, describing them as politically motivated and based on inaccuracies.
The Majority maintains that the total expenditure of GH¢49,721,786 was managed transparently under the difficult circumstances surrounding the emergency operation.
The disagreement has intensified calls for an independent examination of the financial records to establish the facts and address the questions raised by the two sides.
Amid the controversy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reportedly written to the Auditor-General requesting a comprehensive audit of Ghana’s state-led evacuation exercises dating back to 2017.
The request, dated September 17, 2026, is expected to cover evacuation operations undertaken in several crisis situations, including Ukraine, Sudan and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposed audit could provide a broader assessment of the financial management and accountability procedures applied to the country’s emergency evacuation operations over the years.
Mr Acquah’s reference to the South Africa evacuation and an alleged GH¢22 billion loss involving GoldBod adds another dimension to the debate over public financial accountability.
His intervention comes as the Minority presses for further scrutiny of the evacuation expenditure and seeks explanations for the issues it says have emerged from the documents obtained through the RTI process.
The central question remains whether the concerns raised about the evacuation funds can be resolved through the examination of the relevant financial records.
The outcome of the Auditor-General’s proposed review is expected to be important in determining whether the expenditure was properly accounted for and whether any discrepancies require further investigation.
By 1960news.com
