By Michael Foli Jackidy, GNA
Ho (V/R), Nov. 12, GNA – Mr Mawutor Agbavitor, Volta Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has commended the government for evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks and security concerns.
He said at a press conference in Ho on Wednesday that the evacuation exercise, undertaken through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, began on May 27, and ended on September 4.
He described the intervention as a demonstration of the government’s responsibility to protect the lives, dignity and welfare of Ghanaian citizens wherever they found themselves.
Mr Agbavitor said it was unfortunate that a humanitarian exercise intended to safeguard Ghanaian lives had become a subject of partisan political controversy.
On the reported GHS49.72 million expenditure on the evacuation exercise, he said although public expenditure required scrutiny, administrative discrepancies and clerical errors should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of financial misconduct.
He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had submitted an accountability report of more than 200 pages in response to a Right to Information request by the Minority and had also presented relevant documents to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
He added that the Ministry had requested a special audit by the Auditor-General to establish the facts surrounding the expenditure.
Mr Agbavitor questioned the NPP’s demand for the resignation of Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, before the completion of the independent investigations.
He maintained that allegations of financial impropriety must be supported by credible evidence and that individuals should not be pronounced guilty before the appropriate institutions concluded their investigations.
On concerns surrounding payments to the evacuees, he said the Ministry had indicated that each of the 1,964 returnees was entitled to GHS5,000 as reintegration support and GHS500 for transportation.
He acknowledged concerns over discrepancies in some beneficiary records, explaining that the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria had identified clerical errors affecting 15 records, where some passport expiry dates were mistakenly entered as dates of birth.
He said corrected information had subsequently been submitted, adding that the discrepancies should be independently verified and reconciled to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries received their entitlements.
The NDC Regional Chairman said any established financial misconduct should attract appropriate consequences but cautioned against equating documentation errors with embezzlement.
Outlining the party’s position, Mr Agbavitor said the Volta NDC commended the government for facilitating the evacuation and recognised Mr Ablakwa’s contribution to Ghana’s diplomatic interests, particularly his advocacy for reparatory justice at the United Nations.
He also welcomed the investigative measures announced by the Ministry but called for investigations to cover the entire period from 2023, encompassing both the previous and current administrations.
He rejected attempts to establish individual guilt or demand punitive action before the investigations were completed and challenged the NPP to demonstrate what he described as intellectual honesty, moral consistency and democratic responsibility as an opposition party.
GNA
Edited By: Maxwell Awumah/Kenneth Odeng Adade