Foreign Affairs Ministry announces additional accountability measures over South Africa evacuation

Story by: Regina Bless

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced additional accountability measures following the successful evacuation of Ghanaian nationals from South Africa.

The Ministry said the Foreign Affairs Minister has written to the Auditor-General requesting a special audit into the evacuation from South Africa, as well as all evacuations undertaken by the Ministry since 2017.

According to the Ministry, the proposed audit will cover previous evacuation exercises, including the 2020 COVID-19 evacuation, the 2022 evacuation from Ukraine and the 2023 evacuation from Sudan.

The Ministry has also submitted a comprehensive report on the South Africa evacuation to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

Additionally, the Ministry said it has responded to an RTI request from the Minority by providing more than 200 pages of an accountability report covering various aspects of the evacuation. The report includes an expenditure breakdown, receipts, and the names and phone contacts of the 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated.

The Ministry further stated that records show the latest evacuation from South Africa ranks among the least costly evacuation exercises undertaken by the country.

It said the total cost of the South Africa evacuation was GH¢49,721,786, while GH¢44,460,530 was spent on quarantine alone during the 2020 COVID-19 evacuation.

The Ministry described the South Africa evacuation as its most transparent exercise, saying it was anchored on principles of integrity and financial prudence.

The latest measures come amid the Ministry’s broader efforts to account for expenditure associated with the evacuation of Ghanaian nationals from South Africa.