SA Evacuation: Foreign Affairs Ministry Releases 200-Page Report On GH¢49.7m Spending

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to a Right to Information (RTI) request filed by the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, with a comprehensive report of more than 200 pages on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

Sources close to the Foreign Affairs Committee say the response was delivered electronically on Friday, September 18, 2026, and contains detailed information on over 1,900 evacuees, including their contact details and signature records.

The evacuation exercise, which took place from May 27 to September 4, 2026, saw 1,964 Ghanaians brought back home at a total cost of GH¢49,721,786, according to figures announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on September 7, 2026.

A breakdown of the expenditure shows that GH¢38,835,512 was spent on chartered flights, commercial air tickets, ground transportation, feeding, accommodation and medical care. An additional GH¢10,802,000 covered reintegration and transportation allowances, while GH¢84,274 was used for the repatriation of the remains of two Ghanaian nationals.

Out of the total amount, government funded GH¢33,721,786, with private company Engineers and Planners contributing GH¢16 million to support the exercise.

The RTI request was filed by the Afigya-Sekyere East MP while the evacuation was still ongoing. The Minority had demanded full financial and operational details to allow Parliament and the public to verify the spending, including records on flights, procurement, payments, private sector support and reintegration.

The Ministry had earlier explained that a full account could only be provided after the operation had ended.

"It should be noted that, at the time the request for information was received, the evacuation exercise was still ongoing as alluded to in the RTI request under reference. Consequently, it was not possible for the Ministry to provide a complete and final account of the exercise at that stage, as associated expenditures and other operational details had not yet been fully completed," the Ministry stated.

The exercise ended on September 4 with the arrival of the final batch of 41 evacuees.

The Minority has insisted that the GH¢49.7 million expenditure must be backed by underlying financial documents, including invoices, payment vouchers, receipts, contracts and procurement records for flights, accommodation, feeding, medical services and reintegration support.