Akosua Manu, an aide to NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has called for an independent audit of Ghana’s GH¢49.7 million South Africa evacuation exercise, arguing that concerns over the use of public funds must not be overshadowed by the controversy surrounding service passports.
Ms Manu, the Advisor on Gender, Children and Social Protection to Dr Bawumia, said the public deserved detailed explanations for alleged discrepancies in the payment registers, ghost names and gaps in flight records associated with the exercise.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, October 13, she questioned why the debate had shifted towards allegations concerning Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, instead of addressing the financial concerns raised about the evacuation.
“This is an insult to the intelligence of Ghanaians!” she wrote, adding that the passport controversy did not explain the millions of cedis whose expenditure had been questioned.
Her intervention comes as the Majority on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee defends Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa against what it describes as a campaign of character assassination by the Committee’s Deputy Ranking Member, Nana Asafo-Ayeh.
The Majority has linked the criticism of the Minister to his refusal to grant a service passport to Nana Boakye, citing the Minister’s compliance with a presidential directive requiring holders of diplomatic and service passports to return them.
Salaga South MP Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed said the Minister’s refusal to make an exception to the directive was evidence of his commitment to the rules governing the issuance of such passports.
But Ms Manu’s post insists that the passport dispute does not resolve the separate questions surrounding the evacuation expenditure.
She argued that the payment records and flight documentation should be scrutinised to establish whether the funds were properly spent.
“If there is nothing to hide, an independent audit should be welcomed,” she said, urging authorities to prioritise documentary evidence and accountability over political exchanges.
