Damango MP Samuel A. Jinapor has renewed the Minority Caucus’s call for an independent audit of expenditure on Ghana’s evacuation exercise in South Africa, citing discrepancies in payment records and flight documentation.
Mr. Jinapor, speaking on behalf of the Minority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, said an independent audit was necessary to establish whether the expenditure had been properly accounted for.
He rejected claims that the Minority’s scrutiny was motivated by a personal dispute between Deputy Ranking Member Nana Asafoji and Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
“It has been alleged that his scrutiny is driven by a personal vendetta against the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs over a supposed passport failure. That claim is wholly false and, quite frankly, ridiculous,” he said.
According to Mr. Jinapor, the Minority’s concerns are based on documents supplied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are intended to ensure accountability for public funds.
“The examination of these records and the demand for accountability is our collective position,” he stated.
Mr. Jinapor said the Minority had identified differences between the number of evacuees announced by the government and the figures reflected in the available payment and flight records.
He explained that the records contained only 824 names across the signed registers for reintegration grants and transport allowances, while the Foreign Affairs Minister had indicated that all 1,964 evacuees received both payments.
“The records must be reconciled with that claim,” Mr. Jinapor said.
He also questioned the flight documentation, stating that records available to the Minority accounted for 1,173 people, leaving a difference of 791 against the announced total of 1,964 evacuees.
The Minority further identified differences between the registers for reintegration grants and transport allowances.
According to Mr. Jinapor, the reintegration grant register contained 1,508 signatories, compared with 1,001 for transport allowances.
He also raised questions about payments involving 442 children and alleged duplicate entries across payment registers and flight records.
The Minority maintains that these differences require clarification before the expenditure can be considered fully accounted for.
The Damango MP stressed that the Minority was not accusing the Foreign Affairs Minister of wrongdoing but wanted an independent process to establish the facts.
“Let me emphasize that the minority is not accusing the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs of wrongdoing at this stage. We have identified discrepancies that require explanation and an independent audit will help establish the facts,” he said.
He argued that the Ministry’s submission of a detailed report did not, on its own, resolve the questions raised by the Minority.
“Accountability requires that the records support the figures announced to the public regardless of how many pages the report contains,” he stated.
Mr. Jinapor said the proposed audit should cover the expenditure accounts relating to the entire evacuation exercise and be conducted by a reputable, independent audit and accounting firm.
The MP also defended the government’s decision to evacuate Ghanaians from South Africa, saying the Minority supported efforts to bring citizens home safely.
“The minority’s position has always been that protecting lives and accounting for public funds are not competing duties. They are complementary,” he said.
He maintained that the need to protect citizens did not remove the government’s responsibility to account for taxpayers’ money spent on the exercise.
Mr. Jinapor said the Minority would continue to exercise its parliamentary oversight responsibilities despite criticism from the Majority Caucus.
“Asking a Minister to account for taxpayers’ funds is not a personal attack. It is a duty entrusted to us as Members of Parliament and no amount of personal abuse will make us abandon it,” he said.
He concluded by reiterating the Minority’s demand for an independent audit, adding; “Ghanaians deserve a full and credible account of this expenditure and we will keep insisting on that. Let us have the audit.”
