“We deserve a pat on the back” – South Africa High Commission says despite errors in evacuees’ records

Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, has defended the team responsible for evacuating Ghanaians during xenophobic attacks, despite identifying errors in 15 out of 1,964 evacuee records. The 15 discrepancies, including future-dated birth dates, have raised questions about the accuracy of the documentation used in processing reintegration and transportation allowances.

However, Quashie argues that the team deserves recognition for their efforts under immense pressure, stating that 15 errors out of 1,964 is a commendable record. He explained that the High Commission received documents from South Africa's Border Management Authority containing personal information, which they could not alter. The High Commission later discovered clerical errors in the documents and contacted the BMA to report the discrepancies, which were subsequently corrected by the South African authority.

Quashie emphasized that the High Commission could not modify the original documents and accepted responsibility for the errors, emphasizing that they communicated the issue to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for resolution.