The Minority in Parliament has renewed its demand for documentary evidence supporting the South Africa evacuation cost announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Government says GH¢49,721,786 was spent on the voluntary evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians following xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
The figure was disclosed by Mr Ablakwa during a September 7 briefing on the exercise. The Foreign Affairs Ministry said the operation had been completed and outstanding liabilities settled.
For the Minority, announcing the total is only the beginning. It wants invoices, payment records, passenger manifests and details of contributions received from individuals and organisations.
RTI request seeks expenditure records
Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo Adjei Ayeh, had earlier filed a Right to Information request seeking a breakdown of the evacuation.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, September 10, the Bosome Freho MP said the request did not cover sensitive personal information belonging to evacuees.
“Nobody is asking government to publish passport, medical diagnosis, bank account numbers or other unnecessary private information,” he said. “We are asking for enough documentary information to verify the public account.”
Mr Ayeh acknowledged that returning citizens who wanted to leave South Africa was a legitimate government responsibility. He also described the minister’s public briefing as an important step.
Still, he argued that figures delivered at a press conference could not replace supporting documentation.
Minority wants ledgers reconciled
The Minority wants records showing how the number of passengers transported corresponds with tickets purchased, invoices paid and contributions received.
“If the books are closed, then let’s open the books,” Mr Ayeh said. “Let the travel ledger reconcile with the payment ledger. Let every commercial batch reconcile with the ticket and invoice.”
He added that the matter did not require political accusations when the accounts could establish what happened.
The demand places attention on both the average cost of the operation and how expenses were shared across different evacuation phases.
Based on the government’s total, the exercise cost an average of about GH¢25,316 per evacuee, although that rough calculation does not show the mix of airfares, ground transport, accommodation or other support provided.
“We do not need speculation where accounts can be established,” Mr Ayeh said.
The Minority maintains that releasing the documents would strengthen public confidence in an evacuation it supports. Its argument is straightforward: the operation may have been necessary, but the public money used to carry it out must still be traceable.
