The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has demanded a full account of GH¢49.72 million reportedly spent on the evacuation and reintegration of 1,964 Ghanaians who fled xenophobic violence in South Africa, citing discrepancies in payment records and missing supporting documents.
The party has given the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seven days to produce a complete set of documents covering the expenditure, including invoices, contracts, payment vouchers and signed beneficiary lists.
National Communications Director of the NPP, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, who announced the demands, said documents released by the Ministry did not sufficiently reconcile the reported expenditure with the number of beneficiaries and payments recorded.
In a statement, he said the party was not satisfied with explanations provided by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, insisting that the government must produce documentary evidence to account for the public funds.
“Ghana did not ask the Minister for an explanation. Ghana asked for an account. And until the account is produced, this matter is not closed,” he said.
The NPP acknowledged the return of the evacuees to Ghana and expressed condolences to the families of Bashiru Issahaq, Kwadwo Antwi, Amoonu Jailor Nash and Ebenezer Ayi Tawiah, who died during the crisis.
However, it said questions remained about how the evacuation funds were spent, particularly on chartered flights, allowances and reintegration support.
Questions over chartered flights
The party said GH¢27.18 million, representing about 55 per cent of the total expenditure, was reportedly spent on chartered flights, but the documents it had received did not include invoices, contracts or the name of the operator.
It further alleged that three chartered flights used to transport approximately 900 passengers were each recorded as costing US$750,000.
According to the NPP, information available to it suggested that the flights may have cost substantially less, raising questions about the amounts charged to the state.
The party called on Mr Ablakwa to publish the original Ethiopian Airlines invoices for the three flights to enable the expenditure to be independently examined.
It also raised questions about the reported involvement of a person identified as Mr Vanderpuye in arranging the flights, and whether fresh invoices had been requested for flights that had already been completed.
The NPP further called for clarification of an allegation that US$10,000 in state funds had been taken by the Minister’s bodyguard in connection with the evacuation arrangements.
These claims were presented by the party as questions requiring answers and were not independently established in the statement.
Discrepancies in beneficiary records
The NPP also questioned the Ministry’s records on payments to the evacuees.
It said the Minister had indicated that all 1,964 evacuees received GH¢5,000 and an additional GH¢500, but the signed records reportedly contained about 1,001 signatures for the GH¢500 allowance and 1,508 entries for the GH¢5,000 payment.
According to the party, a name-by-name comparison of the two lists identified only 824 people appearing on both.
It claimed that the Ministry had not provided signatures supporting both payments for 1,140 beneficiaries, representing a potential discrepancy of GH¢6.27 million.
The party also questioned the Ministry’s reported expenditure of GH¢10.802 million on reintegration and transport, arguing that the figure was exactly equivalent to 1,964 beneficiaries multiplied by GH¢5,500.
It said the Ministry needed to provide evidence of the actual payments made rather than rely on calculations based on the total number of evacuees.
Questions over airline receipts and donations
The NPP further cited discrepancies in documents attributed to ASKY Airlines.
According to the statement, an invoice and receipt bearing the same reference number and date recorded different amounts: US$79,727 and US$89,918, respectively.
The party said the difference of US$10,191 required clarification.
It also questioned a reported US$13,000 payment relating to 50 passengers who allegedly did not board the flight.
Another concern involved GH¢16 million associated with Engineers & Planners.
The party said a letter from the Minister described the amount as a cash donation, while the Ministry’s response to a Right to Information request indicated that the company had directly purchased airline tickets and provided reintegration support.
It asked the Ministry to clarify whether the amount was donated in cash or provided through direct purchases and, in the case of cash, identify the government account into which it was paid.
The NPP further questioned the absence of supporting records for the remaining GH¢6.6 million, based on its assessment that the airline receipts covered approximately GH¢9.4 million.
The statement also raised concerns about beneficiary registers containing entries for minors, including dates of birth in 2032 and 2036, as well as entries without signatures.
NPP demands independent audit
The party has outlined five demands, including the production of all supporting documents within seven days and the disclosure of the charter flight operator and the procurement process used to select it.
It also wants the Ministry to account fully for the GH¢16 million associated with Engineers & Planners, explain the differences in the ASKY documents and clarify discrepancies in two versions of a letter inviting the Auditor-General to review the expenditure.
The NPP is additionally calling for an independent audit by an internationally recognised firm, with the terms of reference and findings made public.
Although it welcomed the Auditor-General’s review, the party argued that the process should be sufficiently independent and transparent to address the concerns raised.
Mr Aboagye said the party would support its Minority in Parliament to pursue the matter, including through urgent questions to the Foreign Affairs Minister.
It would also petition the Auditor-General to prioritise the evacuation expenditure in the special audit and pursue remedies available under the Right to Information Act.
The party said it would continue to demand answers until the expenditure was fully accounted for.
The evacuation involved Ghanaians who fled xenophobic violence in South Africa. The NPP said the welfare and dignity of the returnees should not be used to shield public expenditure from scrutiny.
It maintained that the government must provide documentary evidence to establish how the GH¢49.72 million was spent.
