Benjamin Quashie, Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, has disclosed that the first batch of Ghanaians being evacuated from South Africa amid rising xenophobic tensions is expected to arrive in Accra on Wednesday, May 27.
The High Commissioner made the announcement during an interview with DW Africa on Sunday, May 24, as concerns continue to grow over the safety of foreign nationals living in parts of South Africa following renewed incidents of xenophobic attacks.
According to Benjamin Quashie, Ghanaian authorities, in collaboration with South African officials, are currently carrying out screening and verification exercises to finalise the list of individuals who will be included in the first evacuation exercise.
He explained that officials are working around the clock to ensure the smooth processing of the evacuees before their scheduled departure to Ghana.
“We are screening them, and once we are done, we will let them know the number of people who will be going to Ghana, and we are expecting to have between 200 and 300 people here today, and Home Affairs will set up at 10 am today for them to be able to leave on Wednesday at 6am to Ghana.”
Quashie further disclosed that the evacuation process will not end with the first flight, as arrangements have already been made for additional flights to transport more Ghanaian nationals who have expressed interest in returning home due to safety concerns.
According to him, the first aircraft has the capacity to carry about 300 passengers, while two more flights are expected to follow shortly after to ensure that all registered Ghanaians who wish to leave South Africa are safely evacuated.
“The first group has an aircraft that will take 300 and after some few days, we will take another 300 and then there will be a third flight with another 300 to ensure that we get everyone home.”
The evacuation exercise was initially scheduled to commence on Thursday, May 21. However, the process was postponed after authorities recorded a significantly higher number of Ghanaians expressing interest in returning home than initially anticipated.
