MTN Ghana has committed GH¢20 million to support Ghanaians returning from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks, with the company looking beyond immediate relief to help affected nationals rebuild their livelihoods.
Board Chairman of MTN Ghana, Dr Ishmael Yamson, said the company initially earmarked GH¢10 million to support the returnees but later doubled the commitment after reviewing the scale of assistance they would require.
Speaking to Joy News on Thursday, August 20, Dr Yamson said simply welcoming people home would not be enough.
The additional GH¢10 million will be combined with the initial allocation to establish a fund aimed at helping returnees restart their lives and regain some economic stability.
“We will do it. We’ll do it in a big way. We’ll do it in a way that will make more meaning,” he said.
Yamson Regrets Delay in MTN Response
Dr Yamson acknowledged that MTN Ghana could have acted sooner, particularly in engaging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over how its intervention could be rolled out.
“It’s something that I regret, because we should have moved faster,” he admitted.
He insisted, however, that the delay should not be read as indifference to the plight of Ghanaians caught up in the violence.
Dr Yamson also condemned the xenophobic attacks and distanced MTN Ghana from the violence. “I condemn it. I completely dissociate MTN Ghana from it. We have nothing to do with it,” he said.
He acknowledged that other organisations had moved earlier to provide support, commending Telecel and the Pentecost Church for their interventions.
“And for those who did it, Telecel and the others, I really congratulate them. Pentecost Church, I congratulate them,” he added.
Over 1,000 Ghanaians Evacuated
The latest attacks in South Africa have affected African migrants, including Ghanaian nationals. Two Ghanaians have been killed in separate incidents amid the renewed violence.
Ghanaian authorities have since evacuated more than 1,000 nationals who indicated they no longer felt safe remaining in South Africa.
Attention is now shifting from evacuation to reintegration, particularly how returnees who left behind jobs, businesses and other sources of livelihood can settle back into life in Ghana.
MTN Ghana's GH¢20 million commitment is expected to feed into that effort.
For Dr Yamson, the emphasis is on making the intervention count beyond the first days of returning home. The planned fund, he said, is intended to provide support that helps affected Ghanaians rebuild rather than simply offering temporary relief.
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