A representative of Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa, Michael Addo, has defended the government’s financial support to the returnees, insisting that all evacuees received the full GH¢5,500 package despite allegations of irregularities in its distribution.
Mr Addo said the returnees each received GH¢5,000 in reintegration assistance and GH¢500 for transportation upon arriving in Ghana, dismissing claims that some beneficiaries were denied portions of the support.
Speaking to the media on Monday, October 26, he maintained that the payments were made to all evacuees on their respective dates of arrival.
“The claims that some people received only the GH¢500 transportation allowance while others received only the GH¢5,000 reintegration allowance are all false. We want to state for the record that we all received the package on our respective dates of arrival,” he said.
His comments come amid growing scrutiny of the government’s handling of the evacuation exercise, particularly following concerns raised by the Minority over the expenditure and the accounting of funds used to bring Ghanaians back from South Africa.
The government reportedly spent GH¢49,721,786 to evacuate 1,964 Ghanaian nationals following xenophobic attacks in the country.
The Minority has questioned aspects of the expenditure and alleged gaps in the accounting of the funds, bringing the financial management of the exercise and the assistance provided to returnees into public debate.
Mr Addo, however, urged Ghanaians to assess the matter based on facts rather than partisan considerations.
He also alleged that some members of the evacuee group had received telephone calls and coaching intended to persuade them to make statements critical of the government over the support package.
“We are aware that some members of our group have received calls and coaching to speak against the government, but our conscience will not allow us to do so, even if we support the opposition party rather than the government of the day,” he said.
He insisted that the returnees had a responsibility to provide an accurate account of their experience, regardless of their political affiliations.
“It is only fair that we state the facts and refuse to allow petty politics to make us liars,” he added.
While the evacuees’ representative maintains that the full support package was paid to all beneficiaries, the controversy over the total evacuation expenditure and the accounting of public funds remains a separate issue raised by the Minority.
The allegations concerning the expenditure and its accounting have not been resolved by the statements cited in the report.
