The Member of Parliament for Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region and former Deputy Minister of Health, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, has defended the Minority in Parliament over its demand for an independent audit of the GH¢49.72 million spent on the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa.
Mr Acquah, in a social media post, said the Minority’s concerns about the evacuation expenditure should be viewed as part of its constitutional responsibility to scrutinise the activities of the Executive rather than an attempt to malign the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
According to him, the Minority is seeking to help the minister address the questions surrounding the evacuation exercise and clear any suspicions that may have arisen among Ghanaians over the management of public funds.
“The mighty Minority is only trying to help the Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa to purge himself and make him clean on the suspicions on the minds of Ghanaians as far as the South African evacuation exercise is concerned. No malice,” he stated.
He added that the Minority is simply performing its oversight responsibilities by demanding answers about the expenditure and documentation associated with the evacuation.
“We are only doing our job to oversee the Executive and their functions,” Mr Acquah added.
His comments come amid a dispute between the Minority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over alleged discrepancies in the financial and logistical records relating to the evacuation of Ghanaian nationals from South Africa.
The Minority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has called for an independent audit of the GH¢49.72 million expenditure, arguing that some of the documents supplied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do not adequately reconcile with the official figures announced for the operation.
The concerns were presented at a press conference on October 11, 2026, by Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, the Deputy Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Member of Parliament for Bosome-Freho.
Mr Ayeh said the Minority’s review of documents provided by the ministry in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request had identified apparent gaps in payment registers, flight records and other supporting documents.
Among the issues raised were inconsistencies in the records for reintegration grants and transport allowances, questions about the number of evacuees accounted for in flight manifests, duplicate entries and incomplete or unsigned records.
The Minority estimated that GH¢16,423,470 in expenditure required further reconciliation and explanation.
It has stressed the need for an independent examination of the records to establish whether the reported expenditure can be fully reconciled with the documentation provided.
Mr Ablakwa has strongly rejected the Minority’s allegations, insisting that all funds spent on the evacuation can be accounted for.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on October 17, 2026, the Foreign Affairs Minister maintained that no public funds are missing.
“I can state unequivocally, without any scintilla of doubt, that not a cedi, not a pesewa, is missing,” he said.
The minister has defended the expenditure and pointed to documentation covering the evacuation arrangements, flight costs and payments to beneficiaries.
He has also challenged the Minority to identify a legitimate evacuee who was denied the financial support provided by the government.
The disagreement has consequently centred on whether the documentation supplied by the ministry sufficiently accounts for the expenditure, with the Minority demanding independent verification and the minister maintaining that the funds were properly accounted for.
The evacuation exercise was undertaken between May 27 and September 4, 2026, following xenophobic attacks and threats against foreign nationals in South Africa.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a total of 1,964 Ghanaians were brought back to Ghana during the operation, with the final batch of 41 evacuees arriving on September 4.
On September 7, Mr Ablakwa announced that the exercise had cost GH¢49,721,786.
The amount comprised GH¢33,721,786 in direct government funding and GH¢16 million in support from Engineers and Planners, a company owned by businessman Ibrahim Mahama.
The expenditure covered chartered flights, commercial airline tickets, ground transportation, feeding, accommodation, medical care and other logistical arrangements required to facilitate the evacuation.
The government also indicated that evacuees were entitled to GH¢5,000 each as a reintegration allowance and GH¢500 as a transport allowance, bringing the combined support to GH¢5,500 per person.
However, the Minority has questioned whether the payment registers and other supporting documents it reviewed adequately establish that the allowances and flight arrangements covered all 1,964 people reported to have been evacuated.
The Majority Caucus on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs has also rejected the Minority’s allegations, maintaining that the expenditure is supported by documentation submitted by the ministry.
At a press conference on October 12, 2026, the committee’s chairman, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, said the committee had received and scrutinised a comprehensive report on the evacuation.
He indicated that the ministry had provided records covering all 1,964 evacuees, including personal details, amounts received and signatures, alongside financial documents relating to flights, accommodation, transportation and other logistical expenses.
The Majority Caucus further disclosed that an independent audit had been requested to examine government evacuation exercises dating back to 2017.
The proposed audit is expected to cover the evacuation exercises involving Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, the crisis in Sudan in 2023 and the South Africa evacuation in 2026, among other relevant operations.
The Majority has argued that accountability should be applied consistently across successive administrations rather than selectively.
Mr Acquah’s comments add to the political debate over the handling of the South Africa evacuation expenditure and the responsibility of Parliament to scrutinise government spending.
While the Minority maintains that the apparent discrepancies warrant an independent audit, Mr Ablakwa insists that the evacuation funds have been properly accounted for.
The Majority Caucus has also defended the ministry’s records while indicating that a broader audit has been requested.
For now, the central issue remains whether the documentation sufficiently addresses the questions raised by the Minority and provides a clear account of the GH¢49.72 million spent on bringing the 1,964 Ghanaians home from South Africa.
By 1960news.com
