Madar (Accra) - Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on Saturday, October 17, 2026, denied that any money was missing from the GH¢49.72 million spent evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa. "I can state unequivocally without any doubt that not a cedi, not a pesewa is missing," he said, according to MyJoyOnline.
The minister was speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile programme in response to the Minority in Parliament, which is demanding an independent audit of the exercise. The caucus says more than GH¢16.4 million in spending requires further explanation, citing discrepancies in reintegration grants, transport allowances and flight records.
Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minority's ranking member on Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said on the same programme that the caucus had not accused the minister of wrongdoing. "We are not even suggesting that there is any misappropriation or embezzlement; we simply say there are some discrepancies, and so let's ask for an audit," he said.
The evacuation ran from May 27 to September 4, 2026, following renewed xenophobic attacks and threats against foreign nationals in South Africa, the same source said. According to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the government provided GH¢33.72 million and businessman Ibrahim Mahama's Engineers and Planners contributed GH¢16 million.
Ablakwa defended paying children the same as adults: each evacuee received GH¢5,000 as a reintegration allowance and GH¢500 for transport on arrival at Accra airport, on President John Mahama's instruction. On September 18, the ministry submitted a report of more than 200 pages to Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in response to a right-to-information request.
