Foreign Affairs Ministry asks Auditor-General to audit evacuations since 2017

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested the Auditor-General to conduct an audit of all evacuation exercises carried out by the Ministry since 2017, in light of the successful evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa. This audit will encompass the recent evacuations from South Africa, the 2020 COVID-19 evacuation, the 2022 rescue from Ukraine and the 2023 withdrawal from Sudan.

The Ministry's statement outlines these accountability measures, emphasizing the intention to enhance transparency and responsibility in the allocation of public funds for evacuation operations. The Ministry has submitted a comprehensive report on the South African evacuation to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as a detailed accountability report exceeding 200 pages in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request from the Minority.

This report provides a comprehensive breakdown of expenditures, incoming funds, and the identities and contact details of all 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa. The statement highlights that the South African evacuation was the most economical evacuation operation undertaken by the country, with a total cost of GH¢49,721,786, which is comparable to the GH¢44,460,530 spent solely on quarantine during the 2020 COVID-19 evacuation, despite most evacuees during the pandemic being responsible for their own quarantine expenses.

The Ministry asserts that this evacuation was the most transparent, conducted with integrity and financial prudence. The supplementary measures follow the Ministry's disclosure of the South Africa evacuation costs, as it aims to showcase accountability in the utilization of public funds.