'Go prove criminality in court, not on TV' — Shamima Muslim tells Minority on South Africa evacuation

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim has called for a thorough audit of expenditure on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa to establish whether discrepancies identified in the records point to financial misconduct.

She maintained that allegations of criminal activity must be supported by evidence and determined through the appropriate legal processes rather than media discussions.

Speaking on Good Morning Ghana with Moro Awudu, Ms Muslim said Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had instructed the Auditor-General to examine the evacuation exercise, including previous operations, to identify possible weaknesses.

“Criminal activity must be determined at the courts of law,” she said.

She explained that the audit would help determine whether the inconsistencies in the records resulted from systemic weaknesses or other shortcomings in the evacuation process.

“So we can find out if there are some systemic weaknesses and gaps along the value chain of evacuations that lend themselves to these kinds of initially we thought clerical errors,” she said.

Her remarks followed concerns raised by the Minority over discrepancies between the reported expenditure and the number of Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa.

A Minority representative who participated in the discussion questioned the accuracy of the figures, arguing that the expenditure did not appear to correspond with the number of people evacuated and demanding an explanation for how the funds were used.

Ms Muslim insisted that the concerns required a proper, evidence-based examination and should not be taken as proof of criminal conduct.

“Can we prove criminal nature on television? We can’t,” she said.

She added that the audit would provide the necessary information to determine whether there were grounds for further investigations.

The Deputy Presidential Spokesperson stressed that she would not endorse allegations of criminal wrongdoing without evidence to substantiate them.