NPP MP Demands Audit Trail Over Ghana’s South Africa Evacuation: “Who Paid for It?”

Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Bosome-Freho MP

The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, is demanding a full financial audit trail of Ghana’s evacuation of nationals from South Africa.

The Bosome-Freho MP has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking detailed records on how much the government has spent on the exercise since May 2026.

His request follows a statement by the Ministry on August 13, 2026, which said Ghana had “fully funded the evacuation of our nationals from South Africa following recent xenophobic attacks.”

According to the Ministry, the evacuation was funded by the Government of Ghana and “our Ghanaian partners”.

It also said Ghana had not sought financial or material support from the South African government.

The Ministry further stated that more than 1,600 Ghanaians had been evacuated from South Africa back home since May 2026, with the exercise ongoing.

The evacuees, it said, were being provided with reintegration funds, transport fares and other relief items upon arrival in Ghana.

But Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh says the statement leaves critical questions about the exercise’s cost and financing unanswered.

“The statement confirms that Government resources have been committed to this exercise, but it does not disclose the total amount spent, the composition of the expenditure, the appropriation or account from which the money was drawn, or the identity of the private entities described as Ghanaian partners,” he said in the request.

“The cost of the exercise is therefore not on the public record, and Parliament and the taxpaying public have no basis on which to assess it.”

The MP is asking the Ministry to disclose the total amount spent in both Ghana cedis and US dollars.

He wants a breakdown covering air charters and commercial tickets, ground transportation, accommodation in South Africa, consular and travel documentation, staff costs, reintegration payments and relief items.

He is also demanding invoices, payment vouchers, receipts, contracts, purchase orders, charter agreements, and expenditure approvals to support the spending.

The RTI request seeks details on the source of the funds, including any money drawn from the Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund, the Ministry’s 2026 budget allocation, supplementary appropriations and funds held by the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria.

The MP also wants copies of warrants, releases and expenditure authorisations issued by the Finance Ministry.

A key part of the request targets the “Ghanaian partners” referenced by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh wants the names of all persons, companies or institutions involved, the value of their contributions and whether the support was provided in cash or in kind.

He is also asking whether any partner has received or is entitled to receive reimbursement, tax treatment, procurement consideration, acknowledgement of debt, a future commitment, or any other consideration from the government.

The MP is further seeking a schedule of every evacuation flight or rotation, including the date, service provider, number of evacuees, cost and whether the flight was chartered or commercial.

He wants the procurement method used for each arrangement and whether services were obtained through competitive tendering, restricted tendering, single-source procurement or emergency procurement.

The request also covers reintegration support.

Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh wants the approved and actual payments per evacuee, the eligibility criteria, the approving authority, and the total number of beneficiaries.

He is also asking for the list of relief items provided, including quantities, unit costs and total expenditure.

The MP says his request is in the public interest, arguing that once the government has placed the evacuation funding on the public record, the supporting figures should also be available to citizens.

He has asked that the information be provided electronically and that the Ministry determine the application within the statutory period under the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989).