Foreign Affairs Ministry seeks names of evacuees allegedly shortchanged in GH¢5,500 payments from Joy News

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally asked the Multimedia Group to provide the names and contact details of Ghanaian evacuees allegedly underpaid during the evacuation exercise from South Africa.

In a letter dated October 26, the Ministry said it was responding to allegations made by JoyNews Head of Research, Isaac Kofi Agyei, during the Newsfile programme on Saturday, October 24.

Kofi Agyei reportedly stated that three evacuees received GH¢2,000 instead of the GH¢5,500 announced by the government as their reintegration and transportation allowances.

He also alleged that about 40 others received the GH¢5,000 reintegration allowance but were not paid the additional GH¢500 transportation allowance.

The allegations further included claims that some payments were made without the required signatures, although signatures were later associated with the names in the Ministry's payment records.

In the letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of Multimedia Group, the Ministry described the allegations as serious and requested particulars to enable it to investigate the matter.

“The Ministry considers these allegations serious and deserving of thorough investigation, particularly as they raise concerns about the integrity of the disbursement process and may adversely affect the reputation of the Ministry and the dedicated officers responsible for administering and supervising the payments,” the statement said.

The Ministry requested the identities and contact details of the three evacuees allegedly paid GH¢2,000, the approximately 40 said to have missed the transportation allowance, and those whose payment records allegedly contained signatures they did not provide.

It said the information would allow officials to engage the affected individuals, examine the relevant payment and acknowledgement records, and investigate the claims.

The Ministry also maintained that the allowances had been announced before the evacuation exercise began and said it had not received any complaints from evacuees about shortfalls in the payments.

It questioned why the allegations had emerged several months after the exercise commenced and stated that Multimedia Group had not contacted the Ministry to verify the claims before they were made public.

“The Ministry remains committed to transparency, accountability and the fair and impartial examination of the matters raised,” the letter stated.