Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said Ghana spent GH¢96.97 million on the evacuation of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic by the previous NPP government, more than the GH¢49.72 million spent on the recent evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
He said records available at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed that the COVID-19 evacuation cost the taxpayer almost twice as much, despite most Ghanaians paying for their own air tickets, quarantine and COVID-19 tests.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, October 17, Mr Ablakwa said the figures should be considered as part of a comparative analysis, adding that an audit had been initiated to establish how the money was spent.
“Now, you hear them say that, oh, GH₵49.7 million. I say, dude, this is the highest figure. I just want to place on record, this is just for comparative analysis, that the records available at the Ministry show that the COVID-19 evacuation cost the Ghanaian taxpayer GH¢96.97 million,” he said.
The Minister’s comments come amid public debate over the GH¢49.72 million spent on bringing Ghanaians home from South Africa.
He explained that more than 80 per cent of Ghanaians who returned during the pandemic paid for their own flights, while state support was limited to a small number of vulnerable people who could demonstrate that they could not afford the cost.
“For the COVID-19 evacuation, Ghanaians paid their own air tickets. You had to pay for it,” he said.
He added that the Ministry was still compiling the total number of people involved in the exercise but maintained that the vast majority had also paid for their own quarantine.
“The vast majority paid for their own air tickets. They paid for their own quarantine,” he said.
According to the Minister, the government nevertheless incurred GH¢44 million in quarantine costs for Ghanaians who returned during the pandemic. That amount formed part of the total GH¢96.97 million expenditure.
Mr Ablakwa said the figures raised questions about the overall cost of the exercise and reinforced the need for an independent audit.
“That is why I’m saying that an audit is important. And we will see how things go after this audit,” he added.
The Minister said he had expected the cost of the COVID-19 evacuation to be lower than the amount spent on bringing Ghanaians back from South Africa, given that returnees during the pandemic largely covered their own travel and medical expenses.
He said the government did not pay for most passengers’ flights, their COVID-19 tests or their medical bills.
“I was not expecting to see that figure. I thought it would be lower than ours,” he said, explaining that he had requested the records of the COVID-19 expenditure for comparison.
“So, I really don’t know what went into that GH¢96.9 million. And that is why we have invited an audit,” he added.
The Minister said the audit would help establish how the money was used before any conclusions were drawn.
Despite raising questions about the expenditure, Mr Ablakwa said he was not prepared to accuse anyone of wrongdoing before the audit was completed.
He stressed that the figures alone were not enough to justify allegations of theft and said he held his predecessor in high regard.
“I’m not going to pass any judgment. I’m not going to accuse anybody of engaging in theft,” he said.
“I hold my predecessor in high esteem. And I wish her well,” he added.
This comes after the Minority caucus called for an independent audit of the government’s GH¢49.72 million evacuation exercise, alleging that records supplied by the Foreign Affairs Ministry leave more than GH¢16.4 million requiring further explanation.
The Minority argues that the records do not fully reconcile with the government’s reported expenditure and total of 1,964 evacuees.