Explosive Claims: Ablakwa Fights Back Over Ghana's South Africa Evacuation Allowance Scandal!

Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has mounted a robust defense of the GH¢49.72 million spent on the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa between May 27 and September 4, 2026. The evacuation followed a period of renewed xenophobic attacks and intimidation against foreign nationals in South Africa, prompting the urgent return of citizens.

A significant point of contention raised by the Minority in Parliament concerned the payment of equal reintegration and transport allowances to both children and adults. Minister Ablakwa, speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 17, 2026, clarified that each evacuee, regardless of age, received GH¢5,000 as a reintegration allowance and an additional GH¢500 for transport upon arrival in Accra. He affirmed that this decision, which included minors, was made on the explicit instruction of President John Dramani Mahama. The Minister emphasized that these children also required financial support to rebuild their lives, particularly to enrol in schools and continue their education in Ghana, justifying their equal share as part of a package for families to readjust to a new environment after the traumatic experience of fleeing their livelihoods.

Mr. Ablakwa vehemently rejected allegations of financial impropriety and that funds were unaccounted for, asserting that not a cedi or pesewa was missing from the evacuation funds. He criticized the Minority's approach, describing their actions as an unfair and indecent rush to damage his reputation and the image of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. He challenged the Minority to identify a single Ghanaian evacuee who did not receive the GH¢5,500 allowance (GH¢5,000 reintegration + GH¢500 transport), questioning the basis of claims that some individuals on the evacuation list could not be traced or that a substantial sum, which the Minority alleged to be more than GH¢16.4 million, was unaccounted for.

In a comparative analysis, Minister Ablakwa revealed that the previous NPP government spent a significantly higher GH¢96.97 million on the evacuation of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that this cost was nearly double the recent South Africa evacuation expenditure, despite the majority of Ghanaians returning during the pandemic being required to pay for their own air tickets, quarantine, and COVID-19 tests, with state support limited only to a small number of vulnerable individuals.

The Minister explained that records available at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the government nevertheless incurred GH¢44 million in quarantine costs alone during the COVID-19 evacuation. Expressing his surprise at the high figure for the COVID-19 exercise, especially given the self-funded nature of most returnees' travel and medical expenses, Mr. Ablakwa called for an audit to establish how that money was spent. He reiterated that while he raised questions about the expenditure, he would not accuse anyone of wrongdoing before the audit was completed, maintaining high regard for his predecessor.

Minister Ablakwa highlighted that the payment of reintegration allowances to evacuees, especially after a crisis, marked a historical first for Ghana. He stated that President Mahama and his government recognized the profound trauma experienced by the compatriots who were forced to abandon their jobs, assets, and savings in South Africa. The allowance was intended to provide crucial financial assistance to help them re-establish themselves and transition back into Ghanaian society, acknowledging that normally such evacuations only offer a small transportation package. In response to a Right to Information request from the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, the Ministry submitted a comprehensive report exceeding 200 pages on September 18, which included evacuees’ contact details and signatures.