Foreign Affairs Ministry Submits Over 200-Page Accountability Report on Evacuations

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has submitted an accountability report of more than 200 pages covering Ghana’s evacuation exercises, including the recent evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

This was disclosed in a social media post by the ministry in Accra on Saturday.

It said the report responds to a Right to Information (RTI) request from the Minority. It includes details on expenditure, receipts, and the names and telephone contacts of the 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa.

The Ministry said the report provides a further breakdown of expenditure and other records relating to the evacuation exercises.

It also said that the South African evacuation records have been submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament for further accountability.

The Ministry disclosed that it had written to the Auditor General to request a special audit of the South Africa evacuation and other evacuation exercises undertaken by the Foreign Ministry since 2017.

Those exercises include the 2020 COVID-19 evacuation, the 2022 evacuation from Ukraine and the 2023 evacuation from Sudan.

According to the Ministry, the total cost of the South Africa evacuation was GH¢49.72 million, which it said ranked among the least costly evacuation exercises undertaken by the Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry said the latest disclosures formed part of additional accountability measures following the completion of the South Africa evacuation exercise.

Joyce Adwoa Animia Ocran, ISD