South Africa xenophobia: Minority flags duplicate entries, payments involving minors in evacuation records

The Minority in Parliament has raised concerns over alleged duplicate entries, incomplete payment records and the handling of financial support for children evacuated from South Africa as scrutiny intensifies over the GH¢49.72 million spent on the exercise.

The concerns were raised by Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Member of Parliament for Bosome-Freho and Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, after the Minority reviewed documents provided by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

According to Mr Ayeh, the GH¢5,000 reintegration grant register contained duplicate entries involving 36 people on page 56 and six people on page 9.

He further alleged that duplicate entries appeared in the GH¢500 transport allowance register and in at least one flight manifest.

The Minority wants the Ministry to establish whether the repetitions were clerical errors or whether they affected the reported number of beneficiaries and the calculation of payments.

Mr Ayeh also questioned blank, unsigned and incomplete entries in the registers, arguing that the documentation should clearly identify beneficiaries, amounts paid and the basis for each disbursement.

The Caucus has separately raised questions about the treatment of minors under the reintegration and transport support scheme.

According to the MP, his manual count of the reintegration register identified 442 minors among the 1,708 people recorded in that register.

Based on the combined GH¢5,500 support package, the Minority calculated that GH¢2.431 million would relate to those children if each was entitled to both payments.

It is demanding clarification on whether the children received the same support as adults, whether payments were made directly to them or through parents and guardians, and what safeguards governed the disbursement of the money.

The concerns form part of the Minority’s broader review of the evacuation expenditure, which it estimates has left GH¢16,423,470 requiring further explanation.

The government reported that 1,964 Ghanaians were evacuated from South Africa between May 27 and September 4, 2026, following renewed xenophobic attacks. The exercise reportedly cost GH¢49,721,786.

The Minority has called for an independent audit to determine whether the alleged duplicate entries and incomplete records had any financial consequences and whether the official beneficiary figures can be verified.

However, duplicate entries alone do not establish that duplicate payments were made, while the amount associated with minors should not automatically be treated as money lost or improperly spent.

The Ministry’s payment records, eligibility rules and disbursement arrangements would need to be examined to establish whether any irregularities occurred.

The Minority says the audit findings should be made public.