South Africa evacuation: NPP desperate to see government commit scandal – Appiah Danquah

Andrew Appiah Danquah, Director of Legal Affairs of the United Party, has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of being desperate to find wrongdoing in the government’s handling of the expenditure on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

His comments follow the NPP’s demand for an independent audit of the GH¢49.72 million spent on evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa following xenophobic attacks.

The NPP Minority has questioned whether the documents supplied by the ministry fully account for the expenditure.

Its analysis of the records identified alleged gaps in allowance registers and flight documentation, prompting calls for an independent audit.

The party has also demanded the publication of supporting documents, including original invoices for chartered flights, contracts, payment vouchers and signed records showing allowances received by individual evacuees.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3’s New Day on Monday, October 19, Appiah Danquah said the NPP’s approach reflected what he described as a lack of consistency and principle.

“In my entire life, I’ve never seen an opposition that is desperate to see government commit scandal. I’ve never seen this,” he said.

He questioned the party’s handling of the controversy, arguing that some of the concerns raised by its members had already been addressed in the presentation by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Appiah Danquah cited the call for an audit, noting that the minister had written to the Auditor-General on September 17, requesting an independent review of government evacuation exercises dating back to 2017.

He also criticised the NPP’s decision to hold a press conference after its Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had accepted some explanations on the expenditure.