Josiah
Former Sekondi Member of Parliament Andrew Egyapa Mercer has called for the resignation or dismissal of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over questions surrounding Ghana’s evacuation of citizens from South Africa.
Speaking on Metro TV, Mercer said the minister should be held accountable by the standards he has set for public office.
“By his own standards, he must resign or be sacked!” Mercer declared, criticising Ablakwa over the controversy surrounding the evacuation exercise.
The call comes amid growing scrutiny of the government’s reported evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa following xenophobic attacks, with the Minority in Parliament questioning whether the passenger records provided by the Foreign Affairs Ministry support the official figure.
Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, has raised concerns about what he describes as discrepancies between the Ministry’s reported evacuation figures and the passenger records made available for examination.
According to the Minority’s assessment, the documents reviewed accounted for 1,173 passengers, comprising 926 people listed on chartered flights and 247 recorded in commercial flight documentation.
This leaves a gap of 791 passengers compared with the government’s reported total of 1,964 evacuees, the Minority says.
It has called on the Ministry to provide further clarification to explain the difference and establish how the passenger records reconcile with the official figure.
The concerns have intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the evacuation exercise. However, the discrepancy identified in the documents reviewed does not, on its own, establish that the government’s reported figure is inaccurate.
The evacuation exercise, which reportedly took place between May 27 and September 4, 2026, cost GH¢49.72 million, according to figures announced by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The reported expenditure covered chartered and commercial flights, accommodation, feeding, medical care, ground transportation and other logistical arrangements.
The package also included a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and a GH¢500 transport allowance for each evacuee.
Following its review of documents supplied by the Ministry in response to a Right to Information request, the Minority raised additional concerns about flight records, payment registers and entries it considers inconsistent or inadequately supported.
The questions have placed the evacuation exercise under increased scrutiny, with calls for the Ministry to account for the reported expenditure and provide a clear reconciliation of the passenger figures.
