Over half of South Africa evacuation expenditure lacks invoices – NPP
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says more than half of the money spent on evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa is not supported by invoices in documents released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, October 18, the Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dennis Miracles Aboagye, said GH¢27.18 million was spent on chartered flights, representing about 55 per cent of the total evacuation expenditure, without invoices or contracts provided in the documents cited by the party.
He said the Ministry's response to a Right to Information (RTI) request dated September 18, 2026, and its report to Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee did not contain invoices, contracts or the names of the flight operators.
"More than half the money comes with no invoice. GHS 27,183,700 was spent on chartered flights. That is 55 per cent of the entire cost. Not one invoice. Not one contract. Not even the name of the operator. Only a sentence saying the flights were arranged. Emergency explains the urgency. It does not excuse the missing receipts," he said.
Mr Aboagye questioned why the Ministry had not provided the supporting documents for the charter flights.
He also questioned the reported cost of $750,000 for each of three chartered flights, alleging that the amount was significantly higher than the $180,000 to $300,000 he said industry checks suggested was the expected cost of chartering a flight through Ethiopian Airlines or Air Tanzania.
The NPP further called for the publication of the original Ethiopian Airlines invoices to establish the actual cost of the flights and address its concerns about possible overbilling.
"Information reaching the New Patriotic Party indicates that the first three charter flights were operated by Ethiopian Airlines and arranged through a Mr Vanderpuye. We are further informed that each of those three flights may have been billed at close to USD 300,000 above its true cost. According to the Minister’s own documents, each charter flights cost $750,000. We had 3 chartered flights to lift about 900 passengers. That means, it costs the state $2,500 to buy a seat for a single passenger travelling from South Africa to Ghana.
"Our checks from the industry place the maximum cost of chartering a flight from Ethiopian Airlines and Air Tanzania should cost between $180,000 and $300,000 for one. Strangely, the Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs is telling us he paid $750,000 for one airplane. Just one.
"We put this to the Minister directly, and we invite him to prove it wrong with paper, not words. Publish the original Ethiopian Airlines invoices for all three flights, so we can have some proper conversation with the airline as to how and why it ripped off the country at such a crucial time. Tell Ghanaians why his Ministry has fallen out with the very man who arranged them."
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