Ablakwa rejects allegations of missing funds, challenges evacuees to name anyone denied GH¢5,500 allowance

Nii Ayitey Brown 08:10 - 17 October 2026

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa challenges the Minority to identify any Ghanaian evacuated from South Africa who did not receive the GH¢5,500 support package, as questions over GH¢49.72 million in evacuation spending continue.

Ablakwa says he wants the Minority to identify any evacuee who did not receive the GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and GH¢500 transport allowance.
The Minority is seeking an independent audit after alleging that more than GH¢16.4 million in evacuation spending requires further explanation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has challenged any Ghanaian evacuated from South Africa who did not receive the GH¢5,500 support package to come forward, dismissing allegations of unaccounted funds as an attempt to create a scandal.

600 more Ghanaians register for evacuation from South Africa

The minister said the government provided each evacuee with a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and a GH¢500 transportation allowance following the evacuation of Ghanaians amid anti-immigrant attacks in South Africa.

The first batch of 300 evacuees arrived at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport on May 27, 2026

Speaking about the controversy, Ablakwa questioned claims that some people listed as beneficiaries could not be traced and that parts of the money spent on the exercise had not been properly accounted for.

“All of that propaganda out there that some people on the list cannot be found and some photo analysis they have done shows that there's some money that has not been accounted for,” the minister said.

“I have been looking for one Ghanaian to step forward and say that when we were evacuated from South Africa. The 5000 cedis reintegration allowance, I didn't get it as a Ghanaian or the 500 cedis transportation allowance, I didn't get it. Have you heard of any Ghanaian?” he added.

He also described the allegations as propaganda and questioned why the evacuation had become a source of controversy.

“So what is this desperate attempt to create a scandal when there is none, when the whole world is commending Ghana,” he said.

The minister argued that he had accounted for the evacuation exercise just three days after it ended.

“This is the first time that an evacuation has been carried out and exactly 3 days after the evacuation, we ended the evacuation on the 4th of September and by the 7th of September, I was addressing the press fully accounting to the Ghanaian people. It has never happened,” he said.

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The evacuation, which began on May 27 and ended on September 4, 2026, brought 1,964 Ghanaians home from South Africa. Ablakwa addressed the media on September 7 and disclosed that the exercise cost GH¢49.72 million.

The controversy follows the Minority’s review of documents released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On October 11, the Minority called for an independent audit, claiming that its examination of the records had identified discrepancies involving reintegration payments, transportation allowances, flight records and duplicate entries.

The Minority, led by Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, said more than GH¢16.4 million required further explanation.

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