Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, has urged Ghanaians not to politicise the ongoing evacuation of citizens from South Africa following renewed xenophobic tensions in the country.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Channel One TV, the MP stressed that the safety and welfare of Ghanaians abroad should remain a national concern rather than a partisan issue.
According to him, any government in power would have taken similar steps to protect affected citizens.
“It is the same way that the NPP would have treated it,” he said, noting that some of the evacuees from his constituency were supporters of the New Patriotic Party and were among the first batch brought back home.
Mr Opoku said the focus should remain on supporting citizens in distress instead of turning the situation into a political debate.
“At this moment we don’t politicise these things. We say it as one people championing one destiny, one agenda for our compatriots. It is about the lives of Ghanaians,” he stated.
He further expressed confidence that the opposition National Democratic Congress would also have handled the situation similarly if it were in government.
“I am sure the NPP would have handled it the same way the NDC has done,” he added.
The Mpraeso MP also commended Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and other officials involved in the evacuation exercise for what he described as effective coordination.
“Let me also commend the High Commissioner to SA Quashie. He’s done a very good job. I think they have done a good job, the minister and everybody,” he said.
Mr Opoku also called for the evacuation process to continue for any Ghanaian wishing to return home.
“This should not end here. Every Ghanaian who wishes to come to Ghana should get the opportunity to do that,” he stressed.
The evacuation exercise follows renewed reports of xenophobic attacks and hostility against foreign nationals in parts of South Africa, prompting the Ghanaian government to coordinate the safe return of affected citizens through diplomatic channels and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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