Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, has rejected claims that some Ghanaians evacuated from the country slept in buses before boarding their chartered flights, insisting that accommodation was arranged for them in hotels.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 24, against the backdrop of the GH¢49.72 million spent on evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa, Mr Quashie said the mission ensured that evacuees travelling from distant provinces were accommodated before their flights.
“Let me move to a few of the issues that have been raised because it bothers on the individual evacuees in South Africa. The first one is to state that not a single individual slept in a bus; it was impossible,” he said.
He explained that evacuees were brought from areas including the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, as well as East London, and that the buses used to transport them to Pretoria were paid for by the mission.
According to him, the evacuees were taken to hotels before their flights, with arrangements made to ensure they had time to rest and refresh themselves.
“When you look at the first three flights, the chartered flights, we brought them in from the provinces. Before they got here, we had gotten hotels,” he said.
Mr Quashie added that the arrangements were designed to reduce costs while ensuring that passengers arrived in Pretoria ahead of their scheduled departures.
“So because we wanted to save costs, if you are supposed to travel on Wednesday, we get you on a bus on Tuesday. So that when you get to Pretoria, all we want you to do is that you spend one day in the hotel, get yourself refreshed, we supply food and other things for you,” he explained.
He said the evacuees were subsequently transported from their hotels to the airport for their flights.
Mr Quashie challenged anyone claiming to have slept in a bus during the evacuation to come forward, while acknowledging that some journeys to Pretoria could take several hours.
“I am daring anyone who comes out and says that they slept in a bus,” he said.
He, however, clarified that passengers travelling from places such as the Northern Cape and Cape Town could have slept during the long bus journeys to Pretoria.
“The only way they would have slept in a bus is if you are coming from Northern Cape and Northern Cape is 12 hours or 13 hours or Cape Town, and you are coming and it is about 10 hours. Of course, you will sleep in the bus before you get to Pretoria. If that is what they mean by sleeping in the bus,” he said.
The evacuation of the 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa has come under scrutiny following reports on the GH¢49.72 million spent on the exercise.