The Minority in Parliament is demanding further details from the government on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa, insisting that figures provided by the Foreign Affairs Ministry do not reconcile with data from South African authorities.
Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, says the Minority is not accusing the government of wrongdoing but wants documentary evidence to explain how it arrived at the reported figure of 1,964 evacuees.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, he said the discrepancies were particularly evident in the first phase of the evacuation, which involved a chartered flight.
According to him, figures from the South African Border Management Authority put the number of passengers on the charter flight at 979, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided a figure of 926.
“The first phase which was the charter flight, the figures from the South Africa border management authority figure is 979 but our ministry says 926. This clearly shows that the figures don’t reconcile,” he said.
The Bosome Freho MP said the Minority is also seeking clarity on the figures for the commercial flights that began in July.
He said the Caucus wants the government to explain whether the 1,964 figure includes children and to provide details on how the cumulative figure was calculated.
“The commercial flights, the number that started in July. We are not asking for too much. We just want to know how they arrived at the figures whether it includes children or not,” he explained.
The MP stressed that the Minority’s questions should not be interpreted as an allegation of financial impropriety.
“We’re not alleging anything. We’re just raising questions,” he said.
The concerns follow a briefing by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on September 7, 2026, in which he disclosed that the government had spent GH¢49.7 million to evacuate 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa amid recent xenophobic attacks.
The Minority has since demanded comprehensive documentary evidence on the expenditure, including details of the procurement methods used for the flights, payments made and contributions from individuals or organisations that supported the evacuation.
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh said the Minority had already invoked the Right to Information (RTI) law to obtain the relevant records and is awaiting the government’s response.
“We have invoked the RTI and are waiting for responses. We just want to ensure there are proper processes and accounting to our people,” he said.
He explained that the RTI request is expected to elapse this week, following the statutory 14-working-day period, after which the Minority will decide on its next course of action.
“The RTI request will elapse this week because the expiration is 14 working days, and afterwards, we will take a decision and activate the next line of action.
“We will let Ghanaians know what we will be doing. We will follow due processes, and I don’t think this should be anything difficult for the minister,” he said.
The Deputy Ranking Member said the Minority would not publish its own calculations at this stage but maintained that publicly available figures, including those on the South African Border Management Authority’s platform, do not tally with the numbers released by the Ghanaian government.
“We will not put out our figures, but even if you check the South Africa border website, the figures there do not reconcile with what the ministry is providing,” he added.
The Minority is therefore asking the Foreign Affairs Ministry to provide the documentation behind the 1,964 figure and the GH¢49.7 million expenditure to enable Parliament and the public to independently verify the evacuation numbers and associated costs.
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