Manasseh Azure Awuni outlines 17 lessons from Ablakwa’s evacuation transparency

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azuri Awuni has outlined 17 key points on transparency, accountability and political consistency following JoyNews Research’s findings of discrepancies in records relating to the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa amid xenophobic attacks.

In a Facebook post discussing Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, JoyNews’ fact-checking exercise and the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) demand for accountability, Manasseh praised the ministry for voluntarily releasing documents for scrutiny but cautioned that the discrepancies flagged by JoyNews must be investigated.

He also drew a comparison with the previous Akufo-Addo administration, arguing that the refusal to disclose information about presidential private jet rentals contrasted sharply with the current ministry’s willingness to open its records to the media.

Below are the 17 key points from his post.

1. Akufo-Addo’s private jet expenses were kept from public scrutiny

Manasseh said he submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Office of the President in December 2021 seeking details of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s trips between May and September that year, including the cost and procurement arrangements for private jet rentals. The presidency rejected the request on security grounds, and the RTI Commission ruled in its favour in June 2022.

2. The presidency later disclosed details of another presidential trip

Manasseh questioned the consistency of the presidency’s position, noting that it subsequently released an itinerary for Akufo-Addo’s trip to Belgium and Rwanda in June 2022. The disclosure followed allegations by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that the president’s trip to Germany involved a chartered flight.

3. The NPP is now demanding the accountability it once faced calls to provide

Manasseh noted that Ablakwa, who had consistently challenged the previous NPP administration over public expenditure, is now Foreign Affairs Minister. He said the party’s current demand for details of the South Africa evacuation expenditure presents an opportunity to assess whether its commitment to transparency is consistent.

4. Ablakwa released extensive records on the evacuation

According to Manasseh, the ministry provided information including the names and contact details of evacuees, passport information and signed sheets relating to the GH¢5,000 reintegration allowance and GH¢500 transport allowance. The total package was GH¢5,500 per evacuee.

5. The ministry voluntarily supplied documents to JoyNews

Manasseh said the Foreign Affairs Ministry provided JoyNews Research with receipts, invoices, evacuee names and signed payment records without waiting for the newsroom to submit a formal request. He described the move as an important demonstration of proactive disclosure.

6. He calls the disclosure a standard public institutions should emulate

Drawing on his 15 years of journalism experience in Ghana, Manasseh said he had rarely seen such extensive and proactive disclosure by a state institution. He described the ministry’s approach as a model for public offices seeking to strengthen accountability.

7. The ministry could have withheld some personal information

Manasseh argued that the ministry could have relied on privacy-related exemptions under the RTI framework to withhold certain records. He said such a decision would have been more defensible than the previous administration’s refusal to disclose the cost of private jet rentals, although the two cases involved different types of information.

8. Manasseh says the disclosure made verification possible

He argued that providing names, contact details and signed records allowed journalists to check whether the payments were made to the intended beneficiaries. In his view, such openness suggested that the minister was prepared to subject the process to scrutiny, although transparency alone does not establish whether wrongdoing occurred.

9. JoyNews Research flagged discrepancies involving 100 evacuees

Manasseh said JoyNews Research identified discrepancies in the records of 100 out of the 1,964 evacuees whose names and signatures were examined. These included some names appearing more than once with different signatures, cases where the GH¢500 transport allowance was not recorded, and reports from some evacuees that they received less than the promised GH¢5,000 reintegration allowance.

He added that ministry officials had publicly announced the payment packages at the airport, raising questions about whether recipients reported any shortfalls when they counted the money.

10. Some discrepancies could be clerical errors

Manasseh identified administrative mistakes as one possible explanation for the anomalies. He cited instances in which passport expiry dates were reportedly entered as dates of birth, creating the impression that some evacuees would be born in the future.

11. Differences in accommodation arrangements could explain some figures

He also cautioned that some apparent inconsistencies might arise from how the records were interpreted. Referring to discussions on Newsfile, he said some evacuees reportedly slept on buses rather than in hotels.

Manasseh cited a hotel accommodation figure of GH¢142,000 and argued that, depending on the assumed cost per person, it would not necessarily cover hotel stays for all 1,964 evacuees. He said the fact that some people did not sleep in hotels would therefore not, by itself, establish wrongdoing.

12. Possible financial misconduct must not be ruled out

The third explanation, according to Manasseh, is actual wrongdoing by individuals involved in the evacuation. He said it was possible that some officials or others who handled parts of the process exploited weaknesses in the system for personal gain, making the JoyNews findings worthy of serious investigation.

13. He questions Ablakwa’s categorical denial of irregularities

Manasseh said Ablakwa’s assertion that there were no ghost names and that every evacuee received the full GH¢5,500 was problematic because the minister did not personally handle every stage of the operation.

He argued that Ablakwa should have allowed for the possibility of administrative errors or misconduct by personnel involved in distributing money, collecting signatures and compiling records, even if the minister himself had acted properly.

14. The ministry has invited JoyNews to submit its findings

According to Manasseh, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has asked JoyNews to provide the details of its findings for further investigation. He said the ministry had described the allegations as serious and expressed its willingness to examine them.

15. Every pesewa must be accounted for

Manasseh insisted that any public money wrongly diverted must be traced, regardless of the amount involved. He said the ministry’s disclosure and JoyNews Research’s scrutiny could help expose wrongdoing if anyone had exploited the process in the belief that the underlying records would never become public.

16. Manasseh challenges the NPP to practise what it demands

He said the NPP minority’s calls for accountability should not be dismissed as mere political manoeuvring. However, he warned that the party and its officials must be held to the same standards if they return to government, adding that he would use the current episode as a benchmark for future scrutiny.

17. Transparency remains necessary, even if the minister faces scrutiny

Manasseh concluded that the ministry’s willingness to release records should be recognised independently of the outcome of the investigation. He maintained that openness does not automatically prove that every aspect of the exercise was properly handled, but it gives journalists and the public the information needed to demand answers.

The bigger issue

At the centre of Manasseh’s argument is the distinction between transparency and proof of innocence. The release of records gives journalists the opportunity to test official claims, while discrepancies require verification before they can be treated as evidence of fraud or embezzlement.

The 100 records flagged by JoyNews Research represent cases requiring clarification, not 100 proven cases of financial misconduct. The key questions are whether the discrepancies can be explained by clerical mistakes or differences in implementation, whether all eligible evacuees received their full allowances, and whether any public funds were diverted.

For Manasseh, the political test extends beyond Ablakwa and the current administration. He argues that accountability must be applied consistently, whether a party is in government or opposition.