The Minority Caucus in Ghana’s Parliament has formally called on the government to provide comprehensive financial and operational records relating to the expenditure of GH¢49.7 million on the voluntary evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
The demand follows a disclosure by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on September 7 that 1,964 Ghanaians had been repatriated from South Africa following a wave of reported xenophobic violence.
According to the Minister, the evacuation exercise cost the government a total of GH¢49,721,786.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, September 10, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo Adjei Ayeh, said the Minority’s request is aimed at ensuring financial transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.
He stressed that the Minority is not seeking confidential personal information belonging to the citizens who were evacuated.
According to him, Parliament only requires sufficient documentation to independently verify the government’s expenditure and ensure that the figures presented to the public can be properly reconciled.
Minority Requests Evacuation Documents
The Minority is demanding documents including passenger manifests, flight ticket receipts, invoices from service providers and payment ledgers relating to the evacuation operation.
Nana Asafo Adjei Ayeh argued that the government’s position that all financial liabilities have been settled and the evacuation exercise has been completed should be supported by verifiable documentation.
He said the passenger figures, travel records, invoices and payments should correspond with one another to provide a clear picture of how the GH¢49.7 million evacuation budget was spent.
The Minority also wants records from the different phases of the evacuation exercise to be reconciled with the final figures provided by the government.
Minority Calls for Parliamentary Scrutiny
The Deputy Ranking Member said the request for financial records should not be interpreted as a political attack on the government.
Instead, he described the move as an effort to strengthen public financial accountability, transparency and parliamentary oversight.
He maintained that documentary evidence can provide answers to questions surrounding the expenditure, rather than relying on allegations or speculation.
The government has defended the evacuation as a humanitarian intervention undertaken to protect Ghanaian citizens affected by renewed violence in South Africa.
However, the Minority Caucus insists that the GH¢49.7 million spent on the South Africa evacuation must be subjected to comprehensive parliamentary scrutiny to establish how public funds were utilised.
The development is expected to keep attention focused on government expenditure, parliamentary accountability and the financial management of emergency humanitarian operations in Ghana.
Source: newsthemegh.com