The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, is demanding a full financial account of Ghana’s evacuation of nationals from South Africa following recent xenophobic attacks.
The Bosome-Freho MP has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeking details of the public funds spent on the evacuation exercise since May 2026.
His request follows an August 13, 2026 statement by the Ministry announcing that Ghana had “fully funded the evacuation of our nationals from South Africa following recent xenophobic attacks.”
According to the Ministry, more than 1,600 Ghanaians had been evacuated from South Africa since May, with the exercise still ongoing.
The Ministry also indicated that evacuees were being provided with reintegration funds, transport fares and other relief items upon their arrival in Ghana.
However, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh argues that the Ministry has yet to disclose the actual cost of the exercise.
He says although the government has confirmed that public resources have been committed to the evacuation, there is no publicly available record showing the total expenditure, how the funds were utilised or the specific sources of funding.
“The cost of the exercise is therefore not on the public record, and Parliament and the taxpaying public have no basis on which to assess it,” he stated in his RTI request.
The MP is asking the Ministry to disclose the total amount spent in both Ghana cedis and US dollars, together with a detailed breakdown of the expenditure.
The requested information covers air charters and commercial tickets, ground transportation, accommodation in South Africa, consular and travel documentation, staff costs, reintegration payments and relief items.
He is also requesting supporting documents, including invoices, payment vouchers, receipts, contracts, purchase orders, charter agreements and the corresponding approvals.
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh wants the Ministry to identify the various funding sources and indicate how much was drawn from each.
These include the Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund, the Ministry’s 2026 budget allocation, any supplementary appropriation and funds held by the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria.
The MP is also seeking details of contributions from private sources.
He wants the Ministry to provide the names of all individuals, companies and institutions described as “Ghanaian partners”, as well as the amount or value contributed by each.
He is further asking whether those contributions were made in cash or in kind and whether any of the partners received or are entitled to receive reimbursement or any other consideration from government.
The RTI request also seeks a schedule of every evacuation flight or rotation, including the date, airline or service provider, number of evacuees, cost and whether each flight was chartered or commercial.
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh is demanding details of the procurement methods used for each service arrangement, including whether contracts were awarded through competitive tendering, restricted tendering, single-source procurement or emergency procurement.
He is also seeking a full account of reintegration support, including the amount approved and actually paid to each eligible evacuee, the total disbursement and the number of beneficiaries.
The quantities and costs of relief items provided to evacuees also form part of the information being requested.
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh says the request is in the public interest because the Ministry has already placed the government’s funding of the evacuation on the public record.
“The supporting figures ought equally to be available to citizens,” he stated.
He has asked the Ministry to provide the information electronically and determine the request within the statutory period under the Right to Information Act, 2019.
