Politics of 2026-10-19
Auditor-General should prioritise South Africa evacuation over COVID-19, other evacuations - NPP
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the Auditor-General to prioritise a special audit of the recent evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa, as questions over expenditure on the exercise continue to generate controversy.
The party says the South Africa evacuation should receive priority attention in the audit process as it pushes for further scrutiny of the records and expenditure associated with the exercise.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, the NPP’s Director of Communications, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, said the party would support moves to formally petition the Auditor-General to prioritise the exercise for a special audit.
“We would support the presentation of a formal petition to the Auditor-General to prioritise the South Africa evacuation with a special audit,” Aboagye said.
The demand effectively seeks to place the South Africa evacuation at the centre of the Auditor-General’s scrutiny of evacuation exercises, including previous operations undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies.
Miracles Aboagye said the party welcomed the involvement of the Auditor-General but insisted that the audit should not prevent further focus on the expenditure and documents associated with the exercise.
“The Auditor-General’s review is welcome, but an invitation issued only after questions were raised, an audit requested after questions were raised, and in two different versions, cannot end the conversation,” he stated.
The NPP is questioning the expenditure on the evacuation, particularly the cost of chartered flights, payments of reintegration and transportation allowances to evacuees, commercial flight records and private-sector contributions towards the exercise.
It maintains that documents provided by the Ministry do not fully reconcile with the reported 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa and the amount spent on the operation.
Among the issues raised is the GH¢27.18 million reportedly spent on chartered flights. The NPP is demanding invoices, contracts and details of the operators involved, as well as an explanation of how the charter arrangements were procured.
The party is also challenging records relating to the GH¢5,000 reintegration allowance and GH¢500 transportation allowance reportedly provided to each evacuee. It argues that the signed payment sheets it analysed do not reconcile with the total number of 1,964 evacuees announced by the Ministry.
The NPP has consequently demanded the publication of a complete list of all 1,964 evacuees, accompanied by proof of payment against each beneficiary.
The party is further seeking clarification on private-sector support for the evacuation, including the contribution attributed to Engineers & Planners, and wants the Ministry to provide a full account of how such support was received and applied.
Beyond the Auditor-General, the NPP is calling for the evacuation expenditure to be subjected to scrutiny by an independent, internationally recognised audit firm, with the terms of reference and findings made public.
The party said it would continue supporting the Minority in Parliament to pursue the matter, including through urgent parliamentary questions and further requests under the Right to Information Act.
The NPP insists that its demand is ultimately for a complete documentary reconciliation of the number of evacuees, expenditure incurred, flight arrangements and payments made during the South Africa evacuation.
