GH¢49.7m SA Evacuation: Not A Cedi Missing …Majority Defend Okudzeto

The Majority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has mounted a vigorous defence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over allegations of financial impropriety in the government’s GH¢49.7 million evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa, declaring that “not a cedi is missing” from the said operation.

Addressing a news conference in Parliament on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Dr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije rejected claims by the Minority Caucus that substantial sums expended on the evacuation remain unaccounted for.

According to him, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had provided Parliament with a detailed report and extensive supporting documentation covering every aspect of the evacuation exercise.

“As Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I can authoritatively confirm that the Committee received a comprehensive report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaian nationals from South Africa,” Dr. Vanderpuije told journalists.

He said the report was accompanied by a complete roll of all evacuees, including their names, dates of birth, passport numbers, contact details, professions, payment records and signed acknowledgements.

“We, therefore, have the names of all the 1,964 evacuated Ghanaians. Not a single name is missing or unaccounted for,” he stated.

The Majority’s response follows a press conference by the Minority Caucus on October 11, 2026 in which concerns were raised about the accountability of funds used for what has become one of the largest emergency evacuation exercises undertaken by Ghana in recent years.

The evacuation operation was launched by the Mahama administration following a crisis involving Ghanaian nationals resident in South Africa.

In all 1,964 Ghanaians were repatriated through an exercise coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ghana’s High Commission in Pretoria.

As part of a government reintegration package, each returnee reportedly received a GH¢5,500 transportation and reintegration allowance to facilitate their return and resettlement in Ghana.

The total cost of the exercise was put at GH¢49.72 million, with the government indicating that a GH¢16 million donation from Engineers and Planners, a company linked to businessman, Ibrahim Mahama, helped support the humanitarian operation.

Dr. Vanderpuije said the Ministry’s submission included receipts and financial records covering chartered flights, commercial airline tickets, accommodation, feeding, local transportation and other logistical expenses incurred during the evacuation.

The Committee Chairman also disclosed that documentation relating to the GH¢16 million donation had been submitted for parliamentary scrutiny, including correspondence relating to the contribution and letters acknowledging receipt of the support.

After reviewing the records, the Majority Caucus concluded that the Ministry had fully accounted for the expenditure.

“The total cost of the evacuation, being GH¢49,721,786, represents a true and accurate reflection of the evacuation exercise,” he said.

Drawing on more than a decade of service on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Dr. Vanderpuije said he could not recall another evacuation exercise for which such extensive records had been presented to Parliament.

He described the Ministry’s report as “comprehensive, impeccable and credible” and praised the Ministry and the Foreign Minister for what he called an unprecedented commitment to transparency and accountability.

The Majority Caucus used the occasion to strongly defend Hon. Ablakwa, who has come under sustained criticism from the Minority over the handling of the exercise.

Dr. Vanderpuije argued that attempts to portray the Minister as presiding over financial irregularities were not supported by evidence.

He further revealed that the Foreign Minister had voluntarily sought to brief the Foreign Affairs Committee on the evacuation exercise, but alleged that Minority members on the committee chose to boycott the engagement.

According to him, the Minority’s decision to subsequently air its concerns in public rather than through parliamentary oversight mechanisms raised questions about the motives behind the allegations.

The Majority also noted that no evacuated Ghanaian had publicly complained of not receiving the GH¢5,500 allowance promised under the reintegration package.

In a move aimed at reinforcing its transparency claims, the Majority disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already requested an independent audit of the South Africa evacuation exercise.

Dr. Vanderpuije said the Committee had received a copy of a letter dated September 17, 2026, requesting the Auditor-General to conduct a comprehensive audit of major evacuation exercises undertaken by successive governments since 2017.

The proposed audit, he noted, would cover the COVID-19 evacuations in 2020, the Ukraine evacuation in 2022, the Sudan evacuation in 2023 and the South Africa operation in 2026.

“The Ministry has nothing to hide,” he indicated, adding that accountability should be applied consistently across all administrations rather than selectively for partisan purposes.

Beyond rebutting the allegations, the Majority’s news conference also carried strong political undertones, with Dr. Vanderpuije contrasting the current government’s handling of the evacuation with previous operations undertaken under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

He argued that the South Africa evacuation had been executed prudently and maintained that the Minority’s allegations amounted to an attempt to tarnish the reputation of both the Okudzeto Ablakwa and the Mahama administration.

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