Kofi Tonto questions GH¢27m spent on chartered flights for evacuation

Kofi Tonto, spokesperson on employment for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Policy Committee, has questioned expenditure on a recent evacuation exercise, demanding receipts for funds spent on chartered flights.

In a Facebook post, Tonto said GH¢27 million of the GH¢49 million spent on the exercise went towards chartered flights.

“Out of the GH¢49M spent on the evacuation, GH¢27M was spent on chartered planes,” he wrote.

He further alleged that Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had failed to provide receipts despite several requests, raising questions about the documentation supporting the expenditure.

“Till date, Ablakwa has not provided receipts upon several requests,” Mr Tonto stated.

He also criticised individuals defending the handling of the exercise, describing the situation as sad.

Tonto’s comments come amid concerns raised by the Minority in Parliament over discrepancies between the reported number of evacuees and the number of passengers identifiable in flight records provided by the Ministry.

Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, previously said the Minority’s examination of the documents had revealed a gap between the Ministry’s reported evacuation figures and the passenger records available for review.

According to the Minority, its assessment identified 1,173 passengers in the documents examined, compared with the Ministry’s reported total of 1,964 evacuees.

This leaves a difference of 791 passengers whose entries the Minority says require clarification.

The Minority has called for further explanations regarding the missing passenger entries, payment registers and expenditure associated with the evacuation exercise.