Did You Take The Plane On Work-And-Pay — Yandoh Fires Ablakwa Over $750,000 Flight

Ghanaians are asking one simple question: how much did we really pay to bring our people home?

Between May 27 and September 4, 2026, Ghana brought back 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa after xenophobic attacks. The Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the whole exercise cost GH¢49.72 million. 

He said each person received GH¢5,000 for reintegration and GH¢500 for transport, making GH¢5,500 in total. He also said 956 people came on chartered flights and 1,008 came on commercial flights. 

NPP communicator Paul Yandoh has now asked a question that has got everybody talking:

“Was the aircraft used to evacuate Ghanaians from South Africa given to you on a ‘work-and-pay’ basis?”

In simple language, he is asking: did somebody give you the plane to use and pay small-small, or did Ghana really pay the full price you are telling us?

The main wahala is the cost of the chartered flights. The NPP says three chartered flights were recorded at $750,000 each, while the normal market price is between $180,000 and $300,000 per flight. 

Another critic also said a flight carrying about 300 passengers would normally cost around $150,000, or about $300,000 in an emergency, not $750,000. 

The NPP has also done its own maths. Three flights carrying about 300 people each is only about 900 people. But the government says 1,964 people were evacuated. So how did the rest come home? They want to see the tickets, passenger list, seat numbers, and payment vouchers.

Ablakwa says no pesewa is missing and he has given a full breakdown of the money. He has also invited the Auditor-General to audit evacuation exercises dating back to 2017.

But the NPP says they don’t trust that audit. They want an independent audit firm, and they want the results published for all Ghanaians to see.

This is not just politics. This is taxpayers’ money. GH¢49.72 million is plenty money. It could build schools, pay workers, and fix roads.

If our brothers and sisters were running from attacks, we must be happy they are home safe. But we must also know the truth about the money spent in their name.

Did we pay a fair price? Or did somebody chop money in the name of evacuation?

That is why Yandoh’s question is hitting hard. “Work-and-pay” is a word every Ghanaian understands. You take something, you work, you pay small-small.

Ghanaians want to know if that is what happened with our plane — and if so, who is benefiting?

Until Ablakwa shows the invoices, receipts, and full contracts, the questions will not stop.

Ghanaians did not ask for plenty grammar. They asked for receipts.

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