By Our Democracy News GH
October 18, 2026
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has released the names, signatures and payment records of 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa as the government pushes back against Minority claims that more than GH¢16 million spent on the operation remains unaccounted for.
Mr Ablakwa said the documents, which include passenger manifests, flight tickets, boarding passes, receipts and signed payment records, support the government’s accounting of the GH¢49.72 million evacuation exercise.
According to the minister, the total expenditure comprised GH¢33.72 million provided by the Government of Ghana and GH¢16 million contributed by Engineers and Planners.
In his account of the operation, Mr Ablakwa said GH¢38.8 million was spent on chartered and commercial flights, accommodation, ground transportation, feeding, medical care and other related services, while GH¢10.8 million covered reintegration and transportation allowances for the evacuees.
He maintained that all 1,964 Ghanaians, including infants, received GH¢5,000 each as a reintegration allowance and GH¢500 for transportation.
“So far no Ghanaian evacuee from South Africa has denied ever receiving both reintegration and transportation allowances,” he said.
The minister rejected Minority claims that either GH¢16,423,470 or GH¢16,302,586 in evacuation funds had not been accounted for, describing the figures as inaccurate.
He also challenged the opposition’s assertion that only 247 Ghanaians returned to the country through commercial flights, questioning the basis of its calculations.
Mr Ablakwa further disputed the Minority’s concerns about allowances paid to 442 minors, pointing to the evacuation records as evidence supporting the government’s expenditure.
The controversy follows scrutiny of the government’s use of public funds to evacuate Ghanaian nationals from South Africa after heightened anti-immigrant sentiment and attacks targeting foreign nationals in the country.
According to Mr Ablakwa, the evacuation exercise lasted three days and ended on September 4, 2026.
The release of the beneficiary names and payment records marks a new development in the dispute, with the government defending its financial account while the Minority continues to raise questions about the management and accountability of the funds.
The competing claims place the underlying financial records, beneficiary documentation and reconciliation of expenditure at the centre of the debate over the GH¢49.72 million operation.
