Ghanaian industrialist and billionaire businessman, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama, has offered 100 immediate job opportunities to Ghanaian nationals evacuated from the xenophobic crisis in South Africa.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration,Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, during his late-night interaction with the second batch of 345 evacuees who landed safely at the Accra International Airport on Saturday, June 6.
Addressing the returnees, many of whom were visibly distraught after abandoning their investments, retail shops, and hard-earned assets to escape with their lives, the Foreign Minister revealed that corporate Ghana has rapidly mobilised to ensure they are not left destitute upon their return to the motherland.
Leading the Path to Reintegration
According to the Minister, a total of 200 secure employment openings have already been successfully locked down by the state in partnership with forward-thinking private entities to kickstart the long-term professional rehabilitation of the returnees.
Highlighting the corporate intervention, Mr Ablakwa stated:
“I am so impressed that already, about 200 jobs have been secured for you and leading the path is Mr. Ibrahim Mahama’s Engineers and Planners. They have offered 100 jobs,” he stated.
The rapid corporate response comes at a critical time when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, working closely with Ghana’s high commission in Pretoria, is racing against time to clear the backlog of citizens seeking refuge from anti-immigrant violence.
The emergency airlift was triggered by targeted attacks, intimidation, and the widespread destruction of foreign-owned properties across several South African metropolitan areas. More than 1,500 anxious Ghanaians have registered for emergency evacuation after watching their life savings wiped out by lawless local vigilante groups.
The arrival of the latest flight brings the total number of successfully rescued citizens to nearly 700, following an initial batch of approximately 300 evacuees who safely touched down in Accra on May 27.
Immediately following the Foreign Minister’s address, officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) began profiling the returnees based on their skill sets, mechanical experience, and trade backgrounds to match them directly with the 100 jobs provided by Engineers & Planners.
The state has also put in place temporary psycho-social trauma counselling clinics at the airport terminal to assist the returnees in processing the shock of losing their livelihoods. In the interim, telecommunications partners provided the evacuees with emergency mobile SIM cards, hot meals, and a transport stipend to facilitate their safe travel back to their respective families across the country.
With a third emergency rescue flight carrying over 300 additional passengers expected to touch down at the airport today, the government has reiterated that it will continue to leverage private-sector partnerships to secure both the physical safety and the long-term financial future of all citizens fleeing the South African crisis.
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