A leader of Ghanaian evacuees from South Africa, Michael Addo, has defended the government’s handling of their evacuation, urging critics to acknowledge the assistance provided to the affected citizens instead of engaging in what he describes as baseless attacks.
Michael Addo, organiser and leader of the South African evacuees, said the government demonstrated compassion by facilitating their return to Ghana following years of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
He made the remarks at a press conference, where he called for an immediate end to what he described as unfair criticism of the government and officials who coordinated the evacuation exercise.
“We demand an immediate end to the baseless attacks on us and the government that was sympathetic towards us,” Mr Addo said.
According to him, the recent intervention marked a significant departure from previous experiences, as he believes it was the first time the government had taken their plight into account and provided assistance to facilitate their safe return home.
“We have experienced xenophobia for many years, but this is the first time the government has taken our plight into account and come to our rescue,” he stated.
Mr Addo outlined several forms of assistance provided to the evacuees, including transportation, accommodation, food, evacuation arrangements, financial support and assorted relief items.
He said the government provided each beneficiary with GH¢5,500, comprising a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and a GH¢500 transport allowance, alongside other relief items intended to support them following their return.
He argued that these interventions deserves recognition rather than what he characterised as deliberate attempts to find fault with the officials responsible for coordinating the exercise.
Michael Addo, organiser and leader of the South African evacuees, addressing the media
Mr Addo specifically commended Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, together with the High Commission’s team, for their roles in the evacuation.
He said their efforts were undertaken on the instructions of President John Dramani Mahama.
The evacuees’ leader maintained that the assistance they received should be central to discussions about the exercise, stressing that the government’s response had brought relief to Ghanaians affected by xenophobic violence.
Mr Addo’s comments come amid a political controversy over the GH¢49.72 million reportedly spent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to evacuate 1,964 Ghanaian citizens from South Africa.
The Minority in Parliament has called for an independent audit of the expenditure, citing alleged inconsistencies in payment registers and flight manifests contained in documents it obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) request.
The Minority’s concerns were presented by Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
According to the Minority, its review of the documents raises questions about the disbursement of funds intended to support the evacuees, with more than GH¢16.4 million requiring further explanation.
The Minority contends that only 824 of the 1,964 evacuees were properly documented as having received both the GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and the GH¢500 transport allowance.
It has therefore argued that an independent audit would help establish whether the funds were properly disbursed and accounted for.
The demand has intensified scrutiny of the evacuation exercise, placing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the officials responsible for the operation under pressure to address the concerns raised.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has firmly rejected the allegations of financial mismanagement, maintaining that the ministry did not mishandle funds allocated for the evacuation.
The minister has also stated that the ministry has not received any official complaints from evacuees concerning the financial assistance provided to them.
His position is that the allegations do not accurately reflect the ministry’s handling of the exercise.
The controversy has consequently developed into a dispute between the Minority, which insists that aspects of the expenditure require independent scrutiny, and government representatives, who maintain that the funds have been properly accounted for.
The Majority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has also defended the expenditure, dismissing the Minority’s allegations and calculations as inconsistent and incorrect.
The caucus, chaired by Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, said a comprehensive report on the evacuation exercise had been submitted to Parliament.
It maintains that the entire GH¢49.72 million expenditure has been accounted for and has challenged the Minority’s interpretation of the figures.
Majority representatives have further pointed to what they describe as mathematical discrepancies in the Minority’s own published calculations, arguing that these undermine the conclusions drawn from its review of the documents.
The opposing positions have left the handling of the evacuation expenditure at the centre of a political disagreement, with the Minority pressing for an independent audit and the Majority defending the ministry’s accounting.
Against this backdrop, Mr Addo has urged the public and political actors to recognise the humanitarian circumstances that necessitated the evacuation and the support provided to affected Ghanaians.
He maintained that the government’s intervention helped address the immediate needs of citizens who had experienced xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
His appeal, however, comes as questions about the management of public funds remain unresolved between the Minority and the government’s representatives.
While the evacuees’ leader has praised the assistance provided by the government and the officials who coordinated the exercise, the Minority continues to demand an independent audit to clarify the expenditure and address the alleged discrepancies.
The central issue remains whether the documentation and accounting for the GH¢49.72 million expenditure can satisfactorily resolve the concerns raised by the Minority.
By 1960news.com
