Foreign Affairs Ministry releases 200-page RTI response on GH¢49.7m South Africa evacuation spending

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has submitted a more than 200-page response to a Right to Information (RTI) request concerning the government's evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa amid reported xenophobic attacks.

The documents were provided to Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, with sources close to the committee confirming that the response was delivered electronically on Friday, September 18, 2026.

According to the sources, the report contains information on more than 1,900 evacuees, including contact details and signature records associated with the exercise.

The evacuation began on May 27 and ended on September 4, with 1,964 Ghanaians returning to the country.

Figures released by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on September 7, 2026, put the total cost of the operation at GH¢49,721,786.

Of that amount, GH¢38,835,512 was spent on chartered flights, commercial air tickets, ground transportation, feeding, accommodation and medical services.

A further GH¢10,802,000 was allocated to reintegration and transportation allowances for the returnees, while GH¢84,274 covered the repatriation of the remains of two Ghanaian nationals.

The government provided GH¢33,721,786 towards the exercise, with Engineers and Planners contributing an additional GH¢16 million.

RTI request filed during evacuation
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh submitted the RTI request while the evacuation exercise was still in progress.

The request sought detailed financial and operational information to enable Parliament and the public to examine the expenditure. Among the information requested were records on flights, procurement processes, payments, private-sector contributions and support provided to returning Ghanaians.

At the time, the Foreign Affairs Ministry indicated that a full account would be made available after the evacuation had been completed.

“It should be noted that, at the time the request for information was received, the evacuation exercise was still ongoing as alluded to in the RTI request under reference. Consequently, it was not possible for the Ministry to provide a complete and final account of the exercise at that stage, as associated expenditures and other operational details had not yet been fully completed,” the ministry clarified.

The exercise was eventually concluded on September 4 when the final 41 evacuees arrived in Accra.

Minority seeks supporting financial records

The Minority has continued to call for the underlying documents supporting the GH¢49.7 million expenditure, including invoices, payment vouchers, receipts, contracts and procurement records covering the various components of the evacuation.

The latest RTI response provides the documentation requested by the MP as Parliament continues its scrutiny of the expenditure associated with the operation.

Sources close to the Foreign Affairs Committee said copies of the report had also been made available to the leadership of the committee, including its Chairman.

Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested a special audit of government-funded evacuation exercises undertaken from 2017 to date.

The proposed audit will cover evacuation operations conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as those involving Ghanaians in Ukraine, Sudan and South Africa.

The audit is expected to provide further examination of expenditure incurred during the various evacuation exercises.