NPP gives Ablakwa seven days to release South Africa evacuation records
The opposition party says payment registers and flight expenditure records fail to reconcile with the government’s account. Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa maintains that no money is missing.
Ghana’s opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has given Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa seven days to release complete records covering nearly GH¢49.7 million it says was spent evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa.
The party is demanding charter flight invoices, contracts and proof of payments to individual evacuees, arguing that documents supplied by the ministry do not adequately support the expenditure reported.
Mr Ablakwa has rejected allegations of unaccounted funds and challenged the Minority in Parliament to identify an evacuee who did not receive the full GH¢5,500 allowance, according to the accompanying news report.
At a press briefing on Sunday, October 18, NPP National Communications Director Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned whether payment registers supported the minister’s account.
The party’s statement says its analysis draws on a ministry response to a Right to Information request dated 18 September 2026, a report to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and accompanying documents.
Questions over allowance payments
According to the NPP, the records contain about 1,001 signatures for a GH¢500 transport allowance and 1,508 entries recording receipt of a separate GH¢5,000 payment.
The party says only 824 names appear on both lists, leaving 1,140 evacuees without matching documentary evidence of receiving both payments.
It assigns GH¢6.27 million to that group by multiplying 1,140 by the full GH¢5,500 allowance. However, the absence of a name from both registers does not establish that the person received neither payment. The party’s calculation therefore does not, by itself, demonstrate that GH¢6.27 million is missing.
The NPP also questions the reported GH¢10.802 million allowance expenditure, noting that it equals 1,964 multiplied by GH¢5,500. It wants individual payment records to substantiate that total.
Flight costs and donation records
Beyond the allowances, the party says GH¢27,183,700 was spent on charter flights without supporting invoices or contracts in the documents it received.
It is asking the ministry to identify the charter operator, explain the selection process and publish the original invoices.
The statement also alleges that an ASKY invoice and receipt bearing the same reference number and date show different amounts: US$79,727 and US$89,918 respectively.
A further demand concerns GH¢16 million in support from Engineers & Planners. The party says one ministry letter describes it as a cash donation, while the RTI response describes direct purchases of tickets and reintegration support.
It wants the ministry to clarify how the contribution was received and used.
“An explanation is what you say. An account is what you show,” Mr Aboagye said in the statement, calling for invoices, receipts, contracts and signed payment records.
The NPP also is seeking an audit by an independent firm of international standing, with its terms of reference and findings published. Its statement also acknowledges an invitation to the Auditor-General to review the expenditure.
If its demands are not met, the party says it will pursue parliamentary questions, petition the Auditor-General and seek further disclosure under the Right to Information Act.