The Minority in Parliament is demanding a detailed, itemised account of the government’s reported expenditure of almost GH¢50 million on the evacuation and reintegration of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa and other places.
While backing the government’s decision to protect Ghanaian nationals caught up in security threats and xenophobic attacks in South Africa, the Minority says the humanitarian nature of the exercise cannot exempt the expenditure from public scrutiny.
The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, said in a statement that Parliament and the Ghanaian public deserved to know exactly how the money was spent.
His call follows an announcement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, that the government spent a total of GH¢49,721,786 on the evacuation and reintegration exercise.
The figure has raised questions about the cost of the operation, particularly as the total expenditure translates into an average of about GH¢25,000 per evacuee.
According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, GH¢38,835,512 of the total amount was spent on evacuation-related services, including chartered flights, air tickets, ground transportation, feeding, hotel accommodation, medical care and hospitalisation in South Africa, among other associated expenses.
However, the Minority says the figures released so far provide only an aggregate picture and do not sufficiently explain how the funds were allocated across the various components of the exercise.
Mr Jinapor said a detailed breakdown was necessary to establish whether the expenditure represented value for money.
“Transparency is absolutely important. Value for money is important,” he said.He addedthat the size of the expenditure, relative to the number of people evacuated, made it particularly important for the Ministry to provide the underlying financial details.
“If you take the figures the Ministry has put out, they are suggesting that they spent close to GH¢50 million to evacuate about 2,000 Ghanaians. If you do the arithmetic, it means the government spent GH¢25,000 per evacuee,” he said.
Mr Jinapor, however, cautioned against interpreting the calculation as evidence of wrongdoing, stressing instead that the figures raised legitimate questions that could only be answered through a detailed expenditure statement.
Earlier request
The Damongo MP also disclosed that the Minority’s demand for the financial records did not begin with the Foreign Affairs Minister’s latest disclosure.
According to him, the Minority had taken formal steps to obtain the information about a month and a half ago, including invoking provisions of Ghana’s Right to Information Act.
He said the Minority had formally requested details of the expenditure, including an itemised bill and had also filed questions in Parliament.
“We, the Minority, as far back as a month and a half ago, acted pursuant to the provisions of the Right to Information Act and requested the details of this expenditure, including an itemised bill. We have even filed questions in Parliament,” he stated.
The latest demand, therefore, forms part of an ongoing parliamentary effort to obtain the financial records rather than a fresh political reaction to the Minister’s announcement.
Evacuation exercise
The evacuation followed security concerns involving Ghanaian nationals in South Africa, including reports of xenophobic attacks and threats to the safety of foreigners.
The developments heightened concerns about the welfare of Ghanaian citizens living and working in the country and increased pressure on the government to intervene.
The government subsequently undertook the evacuation exercise, bringing affected Ghanaians back to Ghana while making arrangements for their transportation, accommodation, feeding and medical needs.
The Minority says it recognises the government’s constitutional and moral responsibility to protect Ghanaian citizens facing serious threats abroad.
Mr Jinapor, therefore, stressed that the demand for financial accountability should not be misconstrued as opposition to the evacuation itself.
According to him, the two issues must be treated separately: the decision to evacuate vulnerable citizens and the management of the public funds used to undertake the exercise.
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