Foreign Affairs Ministry requests special audit of evacuation spending since 2017 to date

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the Auditor-General to conduct a special audit of government-funded emergency evacuation exercises undertaken since 2017, including the recent evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

The request, contained in a letter to the Auditor-General, seeks an independent review of the financial and administrative arrangements relating to operations organised to assist Ghanaian nationals facing threats abroad.

According to the Ministry, the audit has become necessary because of the scale and complexity of emergency evacuations, which often require urgent arrangements for transportation, accommodation, logistics, consular assistance, medical care and psychosocial support.

The review is expected to cover at least four major operations: the COVID-19 evacuations in 2020, the evacuation from Ukraine in 2022, the Sudan evacuation in 2023 and the recent South Africa operation in 2026.

The Ministry has also invited the Auditor-General to examine any other evacuation exercises considered relevant to the review.

According to the letter cited by MyJoyOnline, the audit is intended to provide an independent assessment of how public funds were used during the operations, taking into consideration the exceptional circumstances under which they were conducted.

The review is also expected to identify lessons that could strengthen the Ministry’s preparedness and internal controls for future emergencies.

The Ministry has requested a separate assessment of each evacuation exercise, detailing its costs, findings, observations and recommendations.

The audit is also expected to identify recurring challenges across the operations and recommend measures to address them.

The request comes amid scrutiny from the Minority in Parliament over expenditure on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa following xenophobic attacks.

The government placed the total cost of the exercise at GH¢49.72 million, covering flights, ground transportation and other forms of support for the returnees.

The Ministry has since responded to an RTI request from the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, with a detailed report exceeding 200 pages.

Read Also: Foreign Affairs Ministry submits 200-page report to Minority on GH¢49.7m South Africa evacuation

However, the proposed special audit extends beyond the South Africa operation and will examine government-funded evacuations undertaken since 2017.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has assured the Auditor-General of its full cooperation and pledged to provide the relevant financial and administrative records in its possession to facilitate the audit.

It said the broader review was intended to enhance transparency, accountability and good governance while strengthening the government’s capacity to respond to future emergencies involving Ghanaians abroad.

The request effectively places the financial management of several major overseas evacuation operations before the Auditor-General for independent scrutiny.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.