The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, has demanded the release of detailed procurement records and payments covering the flights and other services used to evacuate Ghanaians from South Africa.
The Bosome-Freho MP said the government’s disclosure of nearly GH¢50 million spent on the evacuation is welcome but insisted that the expenditure must be supported by verifiable documentary records.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh said the government had reported a total expenditure of GH¢49,721,786 on the evacuation exercise, including GH¢38,835,512 spent on chartered flights, commercial air tickets, ground transportation, feeding, hotel accommodation, medical care and hospitalisation.
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He argued that the announcement of a total expenditure is not sufficient to establish how the money was actually spent.
“A headline figure is not an invoice. A press briefing is not a contract. And a total is not an account,” he said.
The MP is therefore demanding procurement records showing how the chartered flights and commercial tickets were arranged and paid for.
According to him, such records should include approvals, contracts or booking confirmations, quotations, invoices, payment vouchers and evidence of settlement.
According to him, emergency circumstances could justify exceptional procurement procedures where permitted by law, but they did not eliminate the need for proper documentation.
“Nobody disputes that this was an urgent operation. Urgency may justify exceptional procurement procedures. It may justify speed. It may justify emergency or single-source arrangements where the law permits,” he said.
“But emergency procurement does not mean procurement without records.”
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh also singled out the commercial flights used during the second phase of the evacuation.
He noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reported that Phase Two began on July 26, with evacuees being transported on commercial flights.
He cited the August 14 arrival of 50 Ghanaians on an Air Tanzania flight as an example of a transaction that should have a clear documentary trail.
The MP wants the government to disclose who issued the tickets, who received payment, who paid the invoice, and the total cost of transporting the 50 passengers.
He said producing one complete booking and payment file for the Air Tanzania movement would demonstrate the standard of accountability being demanded for the wider operation.
The MP also requested a complete flight and batch schedule covering the evacuation period from May 27 to September 4, showing the date, airline, flight or itinerary, passenger count and cost.
He stressed that the demand is not an allegation that procurement laws had been breached.
“We are not declaring that any procurement law was breached. We are only asking Government to tell the country what procurement method was used for each major flight and service arrangement, who the suppliers were, and what was paid,” he said.
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh said if the procurement process was properly conducted, releasing the records should strengthen the government’s position and reassure the public.
The MP said the records could be disclosed with appropriate redactions to protect passengers’ personal information.
He maintained that the ultimate objective is to enable Parliament and the public to independently verify the government’s account of the evacuation.
“If everything is proper, those procurement records should strengthen the Minister’s case rather than weaken it,” he said.