Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has rejected claims that some Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa received less than their GH¢5,500 support package, saying his ministry has received no complaints about payment shortfalls.
Speaking to the Ghanaian community in Ottawa, Canada, during an official working visit, the minister maintained that beneficiaries, including minors, received the full package of GH¢5,000 for reintegration and GH¢500 for transportation.
His response follows reports that at least three people contacted from the evacuation list said they received GH¢2,000 rather than the announced amount.
Minister says no complaints were lodged
Mr Ablakwa said the distribution was conducted openly upon the returnees’ arrival in Ghana. According to him, nobody reported a missing payment envelope or raised concerns at the airport that the money received was below the approved amount.
“For more than four months since the evacuation commenced, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received a single complaint,” he said.
He maintained that the ministry had still not received any such complaint at the time of his remarks.
The minister’s denial challenges the reported accounts of the three individuals. It does not, however, independently establish how much each person received.
Minority seeks independent audit
The disagreement over individual payments comes amid wider scrutiny of the evacuation exercise, for which the government reported expenditure of GH¢49.72 million.
The Minority in Parliament has called for an independent audit of that spending. Its request concerns accountability for the overall operation, alongside questions about the financial support provided to returnees.
Mr Ablakwa described the reintegration and transport package as unprecedented, saying previous evacuation exercises had not offered comparable assistance.
He also pledged to continue assisting Ghanaians facing difficulties abroad despite the criticism surrounding the operation.
The competing accounts leave the reported shortfalls disputed: the minister insists beneficiaries received their full entitlement, while the individuals cited in the reports allegedly say otherwise.
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