Ablakwa Must Account for GHS49.7m in 7 Days …NPP Demands Original Invoices

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has formally challenged the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to produce documentary proof of how GHS49,721,786 was spent on 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa after xenophobic violence, saying the Minister has offered the country explanations but not an account.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, the Party’s National Communications Director, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, said the questions were first raised in Parliament by the Minority, led by the Member of Parliament for Bosome Freho, Hon. Asafo Adjei, who is also Deputy Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Ghana did not ask the Minister for an explanation. Ghana asked for an account. And until the account is produced, this matter is not closed,” Miracles Aboagye said.

“We begin where every Ghanaian begins, and that is, we are glad our brothers and sisters came home,” Mr. Aboagye said, naming Bashiru Issahag, Kwadwo Antwi, Amoonu Jailor Nash and Ebenezer Ayi Tawiah as the four who did not come home alive, and thanking churches, companies and ordinary citizens who supported the returnees.

According to the Party, the Foreign Minister has defended the exercise on television and on social media and with PowerPoint presentations, but has not released documents that reconcile with his public statements. The NPP said it based its case entirely on papers signed and released by the Ministry itself in its official response to a Right to Information (RTI) request dated 18 September, its report to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and the annexes attached to both.

Exact Documents Needed

The NPP statement raised a series of concerns over the government’s handling of funds for the evacuation of Ghanaians, alleging that more than half of the total cost, GHS27,183,700, or 55 per cent, went into chartered flights without an invoice, contract, or named operator. According to the Party, the only documentation is a line stating that flights were arranged.

The NPP also alleges a price dispute surrounding the flights. It says the three charters were operated by Ethiopian Airlines and arranged through a certain Mr. Vandepuye, and that each flight may have been billed at close to USD300,000 above its true cost. While the Ministry’s documents put each flight at USD750,000 making it about USD2,500 per seat for roughly 900 passengers, the NPP says its industry checks put the cost of such a charter at between USD180,000 and USD300,000.

On the disbursement of funds to evacuees, the NPP disputes the Minister’s claim that all 1,964 evacuees received GHS5,000 and GHS500. The NPP says the signed sheets carry about 1,001 signatures for the GHS500 allowance and 1,508 names recorded as receiving the GHS5,000. Matched name by name, only 824 people appear on both lists, leaving 1,140 people whose signatures for both payments have not been produced, a value of GHS6,270,000.

The NPP further claims that the Ministry’s GHS10,802,000 for reintegration and transport is exactly 1,964 multiplied by GHS5,500, a headcount times a rate, rather than a total of what was actually paid. It also points to what it describes as one ASKY document bearing two prices: an ASKY “Invoice” and an ASKY “Receipt” with the same number, KP/GO9/05/09/26/001, and the same date, 5 September, showing USD79,727 and USD89,918 respectively, leaving USD10,191 unexplained. The same papers, it says, show USD13,000 paid for 50 passengers who never boarded.

The NPP also alleges inconsistencies in correspondence, saying the letter inviting the Auditor-General, reference CC/7 of September 17, appears in the Minister’s bundle in two forms; one promising all records “within its purview”, the other promising only what “we are able to produce”.

Regarding a GHS16 million payment, the NPP says a letter to Engineers & Planners thanks the company for a “cash donation” of GHS16 million, while the Ministry’s RTI response describes the same company as having bought tickets and reintegration support directly. Airline receipts, according to the NPP, cover about GHS9.4 million, leaving GHS6.6 million unaccounted for.

Finally, the NPP says the registers contain records no auditor would accept especially when the records have children recorded only as “Minor” with signatures against their names, some dates of birth falling in 2032 and 2036, and some rows with no signature at all.

The statement also raised allegations that the Minister’s bodyguard reportedly pocketed USD10,000 out of the evacuation arrangements and was subsequently dismissed, asking on what basis the man was sacked and what state funds were doing with him. No evidence was given to prove this claim and The New Publisher cannot independently verify this particular allegation.

Five Demands

The statement said the NPP has given the Foreign Ministry seven days to produce the complete set of documents including every charter invoice and contract, every payment voucher, every signed sheet, and the full list of 1,964 evacuees with proof of payment against each name, before the RTI applicant and Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Party also demands that the Foreign Ministry name the charter operator and show how it was selected under the Public Procurement Act. It further wants the Foreign Ministry to account for the GHS16 million, whether it was cash or purchases, which account received it, and how every cedi was applied.

In addition, the NPP is asking the Foreign Ministry to explain the two ASKY totals and the two versions of letter CC/7, and to publish the version the Auditor-General received. Finally, the party wants the Ministry to submit to an independent audit by a firm of international standing, with the terms of reference and findings made public. The party said the Auditor-General’s review is welcome but cannot be the last word, since it was invited only after questions were raised, and in two versions.

Should the demands go unmet, the NPP said it will back the Minority in filing urgent questions in Parliament, formally petition the Auditor-General to prioritise the evacuation in the special audit, pursue further remedies under the RTI Act, and keep the matter before the public.