A deepening standoff over the government’s evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa has taken a dramatic new turn, with the Minority in Parliament rejecting a proposal for the Auditor-General to audit all evacuation exercises conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2017.
The twist comes after the Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had himself invited the Auditor-General to conduct a special audit of the ministry’s evacuation spending dating back to 2017. The Minority, which had initially demanded a comprehensive account of the GH¢49.72 million spent on evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa, has now balked at the scope of that audit, raising questions about its own demands for transparency.
The Evacuation and the GH¢49.72 Million Bill
The evacuation exercise, triggered by a resurgence of xenophobic violence and intimidation against foreign nationals in South Africa, began on May 27, 2026, and concluded on September 4, 2026, with the arrival of the final group of 41 returnees. In total, 1,964 Ghanaians were brought home. On September 7, Minister Ablakwa announced that the operation had cost GH¢49,721,786, comprising GH¢33,721,786 in direct government funding and GH¢16 million attributed to support from Engineers & Planners, a company owned by businessman Ibrahim Mahama.
The reported expenditure covered chartered flights, commercial airline tickets, ground transportation, feeding, accommodation, medical care, reintegration support, and other logistical expenses. Each evacuee was said to have received a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and a GH¢500 transport allowance. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the South Africa operation ranked among the least costly evacuation exercises it has undertaken.
The Minority’s Allegations of a GH¢16.4 Million Gap
The controversy intensified when the Minority, led by the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, obtained documents from the Ministry through a Right to Information (RTI) request. The Ministry subsequently provided a report exceeding 200 pages, including expenditure records, receipts, and the names and telephone contacts of the 1,964 evacuees.
After a name-by-name review, the Minority alleged that the records failed to adequately account for more than GH¢16.4 million. According to Ayeh, only 824 individuals could be confirmed from the records as having received both the GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and the GH¢500 transport allowance, leaving 1,140 evacuees whose payments could not be fully reconciled—representing approximately GH¢6.27 million. On flight costs, the Minority said it could verify only 926 evacuees on chartered flights and 247 on commercial flights, leaving 791 evacuees unaccounted for and translating into an estimated GH¢7.18 million in flight-related expenditure requiring clarification. The Minority further claimed that GH¢13.45 million of expenditure could not be fully reconciled from the Ministry’s records.
The Minority also raised concerns about duplicate entries—42 names on reintegration registers, 112 on transport registers, and 29 on flight manifests—which it said could indicate administrative lapses or possible inflation of beneficiary figures and expenditure totals. Most sensitively, the Minority identified 442 minors on the reintegration register and questioned how payments intended for children were handled, asking whether the money was paid directly to the children or to parents or guardians, and what safeguarding arrangements were in place.
The Minister’s Response and the Request for a Special Audit
Minister Ablakwa has consistently denied any wrongdoing. On October 10, he declared, “I have nothing to hide” and stated that he was prepared for a probe. In a formal letter dated September 17, 2026, addressed to the Auditor-General, the Ministry requested a special audit of government evacuation exercises conducted from 2017 to date. The audit is expected to cover at least four major exercises: the COVID-19 evacuations in 2020, Ukraine in 2022, Sudan in 2023, and the South Africa evacuation in 2026.
The Ministry explained that the audit was intended to provide an independent assessment of how public funds were used, taking into account the exceptional and emergency circumstances under which the evacuations were conducted. It also invited the Auditor-General to include any other evacuation exercise deemed relevant and assured full cooperation.
The Minority’s Rejection and the Deepening Standoff
Despite having initially called for an independent audit, the Minority has now rejected the proposal for the Auditor-General to conduct a comprehensive audit covering 2017 to date. The Minority has instead proposed that the audit be conducted by a private accounting firm—specifically naming Deloitte Ghana, KPMG Ghana, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), or Ernst & Young Ghana—arguing that an independent firm would ensure transparency. The Minority insisted that the audit’s terms of reference and final findings be made public, stating that “only a thorough independent and transparent audit with findings made public can restore the confidence of the Ghanaian people in the public management of their funds”.
The rejection of the Auditor-General’s expanded audit follows a pattern of confrontation between the Minority and the Ministry. On September 15, the Minority boycotted a closed-door meeting with Minister Ablakwa, demanding an itemised account and supporting documents before any briefing. The following day, the Minority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee formally announced it would not participate in a scheduled closed-door meeting, insisting on full disclosure of the expenditure incurred. Ayeh had submitted an RTI request seeking itemised expenditure records, payment registers, flight manifests, procurement details, and other supporting documents to allow Parliament and the public to verify the official figures.
Background: A History of Evacuations
The current controversy is not the first time Ghana has undertaken large-scale evacuations of its citizens from crisis zones. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conducted several such exercises in recent years, including the evacuation of Ghanaians from China during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, from Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022, and from Sudan amid the conflict in 2023. The government has also evacuated citizens from South Africa in previous years, including in 2019 following a wave of xenophobic attacks.
The Ministry has argued that the special audit, if conducted as requested, would examine all these exercises and provide lessons to improve preparedness and internal controls for future emergencies. The Ministry stated that the total cost of the South Africa evacuation was GH¢49.72 million, which it said ranked among the least costly evacuation exercises it has undertaken.
What Happens Next
The Auditor-General’s office has yet to publicly respond to the Minority’s rejection of the proposed audit. It remains unclear whether the audit will proceed under the Auditor-General’s mandate or whether the Minority’s demand for a private audit will gain traction. The Minority has insisted that a ministerial briefing is needed regardless of any urgent question in Parliament, and that the government must provide comprehensive documentary evidence to support the reported expenditure.
Minister Ablakwa, a four-term Member of Parliament for North Tongu who served as Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee from 2017 to 2024 before being appointed Minister in January 2025, has staked his reputation on transparency. Whether that reputation survives the current standoff may depend on the outcome of the audit—and on who ultimately conducts it.
