Minority Calls For Audit Of GH¢49.72m Spent On South Africa Evacuation
The Minority in Parliament has called for an independent audit of the GH¢49.72 million spent on evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa amid xenophobic tensions, citing alleged discrepancies in payment registers and flight records provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, said the audit should be conducted by an independent accounting firm, with the findings and terms of reference made public.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, October 11, he said the Minority’s analysis of documents released by the Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request had identified inconsistencies in records relating to reintegration grants, transport allowances and flight expenses.
According to Mr Ayeh, the Minister indicated that each of the 1,964 evacuees received a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and a GH¢500 transport allowance. However, the minority's review found that only 824 names appeared on both payment registers.
He also said the documents reviewed accounted for 926 people evacuated on chartered flights and 247 through itemised commercial flight records, bringing the total to 1,173. The Minority argues that the records provided do not adequately account for the remaining 791 people out of the reported 1,964 evacuees.
The Deputy Ranking Member further alleged that the documents contained duplicated entries across the reintegration, transport and flight records. He said the minority had also identified 442 minors in the reintegration payment register and was seeking clarification on how payments involving the children were handled, including whether the money was paid directly to them or through their parents or guardians.
Mr Ayeh acknowledged that the Minister’s RTI response had placed additional information on the public record but argued that it did not fully address questions about payment reconciliation, duplicated and unsigned entries, and supporting documentation for flight and logistical costs.
The Minority has proposed that the audit be conducted by Deloitte Ghana, KPMG Ghana, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) or Ernst & Young Ghana, or another firm of comparable standing that is independent of the Minister and contractors involved in the evacuation exercise.
It wants the audit findings made public to establish whether the reported expenditure and number of evacuees can be reconciled with the supporting documents.
“Only a thorough independent and transparent audit with findings made public can restore the confidence of the Ghanaian people in the public management of their funds,” Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh said.
The Minority says the exercise is necessary to strengthen public accountability over the use of funds for the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
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