Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has disclosed submitting more than 200 pages of the South African evacuation records to the Minority in Parliament in response to its Right to Information (RTI) request concerning the GH¢49.7 million expenditure.
He has also invited the Ghana Audit Service to conduct an independent audit of evacuation exercises undertaken by successive administrations since 2017, insisting that the government has nothing to hide.
Mr Ablakwa said the move was intended to promote transparency and accountability amid questions from the Minority over the cost and detailed expenditure of the latest evacuation exercise.
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Speaking on TV3’s The Key Points on Saturday, October 10, the minister defended the government’s handling of the operation, describing the disclosure of expenditure details after the exercise as a departure from previous practice.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, had already published a breakdown of expenditure on flights, air tickets, food and transportation, including the cost of moving stranded Ghanaians from their respective communities to diplomatic missions and subsequently to the airport.
However, the Minority requested further details, including receipts and supporting documents, through an RTI application.
Mr Ablakwa said the ministry has complied with the request and submitted more than 200 pages of records to the opposition caucus.
“I can confirm to you that I’ve responded to the Minority’s RTI request, sent them over 200 pages,” he said.
Beyond responding to the Minority’s request, the Foreign Affairs Minister said he has formally written to the Ghana Audit Service to invite it to examine evacuation exercises conducted since 2017.
The proposed audit is expected to cover evacuations involving Ghanaians from Ukraine, operations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Sudan and South Africa, among other exercises.
Mr Ablakwa argued that the Audit Service, rather than Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, is the appropriate institution to conduct an independent financial audit under Ghana’s constitutional and legal framework.
He said the Audit Service has responded to his invitation and indicated that it would begin the audit soon.
The minister maintained that he is willing to subject the ministry’s expenditure to independent scrutiny because he is confident that the evacuation exercise had been conducted properly.
“We have absolutely nothing to hide,” he said, adding that the government is prepared to allow the relevant institutions to examine the records.
Mr Ablakwa also defended the GH¢49.7 million expenditure, arguing that the amount should be assessed against the full range of logistical requirements involved in evacuating citizens from dangerous situations.
He cited records from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating that approximately GH¢44 million was spent on quarantine during the previous administration’s COVID-19 evacuation arrangements.
According to him, that figure related to quarantine alone and did not include other major cost components, such as chartered flights, feeding and internal transportation.
The minister questioned the overall value for money in the previous arrangements, particularly amid reports that some Ghanaians had paid for their own quarantine.
Mr Ablakwa described the recent evacuation as the most economical and efficiently managed operation in the country’s history, while maintaining that the government’s willingness to disclose its records demonstrated its commitment to accountability.
The Foreign Affairs Minister also rejected suggestions that the evacuation exercise could have been used for personal financial gain.
He said the government’s priority was to rescue Ghanaians facing danger abroad, rather than exploit their distress for profit.
Mr Ablakwa invoked the government’s broader reset agenda, arguing that transparency, honesty and openness should guide the management of public resources.
He added that the government is prepared to cooperate with the Audit Service, Parliament and other relevant oversight institutions as scrutiny of the evacuation expenditure continues.