The Minority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee says it will boycott a closed-door briefing on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa unless the government provides a detailed breakdown of the nearly GH¢50 million spent on the exercise.
The committee is scheduled to meet Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on Wednesday, September 16, for an update on the evacuation and reintegration exercise.
The Minority says it will not participate in the meeting because the Foreign Affairs Ministry has not provided documents detailing how the funds were spent.
The government announced on September 7 that almost GH¢50 million had been spent on evacuating and reintegrating 1,964 Ghanaians affected by xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
The Minority said it supported the decision to evacuate Ghanaian citizens whose safety was threatened but argued that this did not remove the government’s responsibility to account for public funds.
According to the Caucus, it submitted a request under the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989) on August 17 seeking detailed information on the expenditure.
The request included records on flights, transportation, accommodation, feeding, medical services, reintegration payments and procurement, as well as information on funding sources and private partners involved in the exercise.
The Minority said the request was received by the Foreign Affairs Ministry on August 25 but that it had not yet received the requested itemised account and supporting documentation.
It therefore said attending a closed-door briefing while its formal request remained outstanding would be inappropriate.
The Caucus has renewed its call for full disclosure of the expenditure, saying it will continue to demand transparency and accountability in the use of taxpayers’ funds.