The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is scrutinising GH¢49.7 million spent on bringing Ghanaians home from South Africa, following concerns over duplicate entries, missing supporting documents and disputed payments.

The examination centres on the government’s expenditure during the evacuation exercise and whether the amounts reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs correspond with payments actually made to beneficiaries and service providers.

In a statement on Monday, November 9, 2026, the OSP said it was examining alleged discrepancies between the Ministry’s expenditure report and the payment records for the operation.

The evacuation took place between May 27 and September 4, 2026, following xenophobic attacks and threats against foreign nationals in South Africa. A total of 1,964 Ghanaian nationals were brought back to the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported expenditure of GH¢49,721,786 on the exercise. The amount covered chartered flights, commercial tickets, transportation, accommodation, feeding, medical services and reintegration allowances.

Among the issues being examined are duplicate entries in the payment records, insufficient documentation to support some expenditure and claims by beneficiaries that they did not receive the amounts recorded against their names.

The OSP said the examination would establish whether the public funds were properly accounted for, identify the actual recipients and determine whether public officers or private individuals improperly benefited from the expenditure.

The Office has clarified that its examination does not concern the decision to evacuate Ghanaians from South Africa, which it recognises as a humanitarian intervention, but the handling and disbursement of the public funds used for the operation.

It said further details would be made available where appropriate and reminded the public that anyone implicated remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

GH¢49.7m evacuation expenditure under OSP scrutiny over payment discrepancies

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