SA evacuation: 'How do you impute criminality without evidence?’ – Akwatia MP questions Minority

The Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Bernard Bediako Baidoo, has dismissed allegations of corruption in the government’s expenditure on evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa.

He argues that the claims are yet to be supported by conclusive evidence.

Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on Wednesday, October 28, he defended Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

He stated that the documents released by the ministry, including receipts for payments made to airlines, should be verified before any wrongdoing is alleged.

He also criticised what he described as shifting figures in the controversy, saying the amount the opposition claims was lost had reduced significantly since its initial press conference.

“Remember the first press conference? He said we had lost over 16 million. Now it is 300,000. Gradually, we will get to zero. What is the issue? Ghanaians have been evacuated,” he said.

Bediako Baidoo argued that questions about the expenditure and calls for an audit did not, on their own, establish corruption or illegality on the part of the minister.

He said the ministry had provided information and receipts relating to payments for evacuation arrangements involving Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt, Atlas and Tanzania, challenging critics to verify the documents with the relevant organisations.

The Akwatia MP further explained that the evacuation exercise involved different arrangements, with some Ghanaians evacuated under the auspices of National Security and others through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to him, 956 people were brought back under the charter-flight arrangement, while another 1,008 were evacuated through commercial flights.

“If you have not investigated, if you do not have conclusive evidence, how do you then impute criminality and illegality on anybody’s part?” he asked.