The Minority in Parliament has renewed calls for an independent audit of government expenditure on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa, citing discrepancies in payment registers and flight records relating to the exercise.
Samuel Abu Jinapor, Member of Parliament for Damongo and Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Wednesday, October 14, that an independent audit by a reputable accounting firm was necessary to reconcile the figures and establish how public funds were spent.
He was responding to criticism by the Majority caucus on the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee against the Deputy Ranking Member, Nana Asafo-Adjei, following his press conference on October 13, where he raised concerns about the unreconciled costs of the evacuation.
Mr Jinapor dismissed suggestions that the scrutiny was motivated by a personal dispute between Mr Asafo-Adjei and the Foreign Affairs Minister over an alleged passport favour, describing the claim as false.
He said Mr Asafo-Adjei had spoken on behalf of the Minority caucus and that the demand for accountability represented the collective position of its members.
According to Mr Jinapor, the Majority’s attacks on the deputy ranking member did not address the discrepancies identified in the records and risked diverting attention from questions surrounding the expenditure.
He said the Minority supported the government’s efforts to evacuate Ghanaians safely from South Africa but maintained that protecting citizens and accounting for public funds were complementary responsibilities.
Mr Jinapor outlined three key concerns, beginning with discrepancies in the payment of reintegration grants and transport allowances.
He said the signed registers reviewed by the Minority accounted for only 824 names across the two categories, while the Foreign Affairs Minister had indicated that all 1,964 evacuees received both payments.
He also cited discrepancies in flight records, saying the documents reviewed accounted for 1,173 evacuees transported through chartered and commercial flights, leaving a gap of 791 against the announced total.
Additionally, he said the registers contained 1,508 signatories for reintegration grants but only 1,001 for transport allowances.
The Minority also raised questions about payments involving 442 children and possible duplicate entries across payment registers and flight records.
Mr Jinapor said the Ministry’s submission of an extensive report did not, by itself, resolve the concerns, particularly because the discrepancies emerged from the documents supplied by the Ministry.
He stressed that the Minority was not accusing the Foreign Affairs Minister of wrongdoing but was seeking explanations for the inconsistencies identified.
“If the Honourable Minister is confident that the expenditure has been properly accounted for, he should welcome and support that process,” he said.
Mr Jinapor said the Minority would continue to exercise its parliamentary oversight responsibilities, insisting that demands for explanations over public expenditure should not be treated as personal attacks.
He said Ghanaians deserved a full and credible account of the evacuation costs and urged the government to support an independent audit of the entire exercise.
