The Ashanti Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP),Dr. Francis Adomako, who is popularly known as Francois, has stated unequivocally that nobody is against the government evacuating Ghanaians in distress.
According to him, the issue is not the evacuation itself but the accountability for the public funds spent.
Francois argued that the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, provided the documents himself. “These are not documents cooked up, altered, or intercepted by political opponents. The analysis is based on the very documents submitted by the minister.The first issue is straightforward: How many people were evacuated, how much was spent, and how many people can be verified as having received the money?
Dr.Francis Adomako aka Francois
The Ashanti Regional NPP Secretary said Okudzeto Ablakwa told the public that approximately GH¢50 million was spent on evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa.He also stated that 1,964 Ghanaians were evacuated. “These two figures are central to the analysis.Of the nearly GH¢50 million reportedly spent, approximately GH¢17 million, representing 33% of the total expenditure, remains unaccounted for based on the figures under consideration. That is a significant amount of public money that demands explanation”.
Francois pointed out that Minister also indicated that each of the 1,964 evacuees received GH¢5,000 as reintegration support and GH¢500 for transportation to their respective destinations.Adding that in simple terms, each evacuee was supposed to receive GH¢5,500.
” Yet, when the documents are put together, the records show that only 824 people signed for the GH¢5,000 reintegration support and the GH¢500 transportation allowance.Let that sink in. Out of the 1,964 people the Minister claimed to have evacuated and paid, only 824, approximately 41% are supported by the available signed payment records.
What happened to the remaining 1,140 people, representing approximately 59% of the total number of evacuees? If the Minister maintains that everyone was paid, where are the corresponding records to substantiate that claim?
Stressing that money in question is not small. At GH¢5,500 per person, the payments relating to those 1,140 individuals amount to GH¢6,270,000.”So, where is the documentation showing that these 1,140 people actually received their money? Who collected it, and where is the evidence? Ghanaians deserve answers. Public funds are not anyone’s personal money, and an official claim that payments were made must be backed by verifiable records. If the documents submitted by the Minister himself do not account for these payments, he owes the public a clear explanation. The issue is not whether Ghanaians should have been evacuated. They should. The issue is whether the money allocated for their evacuation and reintegration reached the intended beneficiaries. “.Besides, the Ashanti Regional NPP Secretary raised concern that the silence of several CSOs and anti-corruption crusaders.”We will not hear Wow Wow Wow from Prof. Kwaku Azar, neither will you read the thesis without tears from him. It goes against ORAL.”,he added.
