Scenes during the demonstration
About ten thousand youth of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) hit the streets of Accra yesterday to demand accountability over the GH¢49.7 million spent in the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa.
The protesters, led by NPP National Youth Organiser, Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, converged at Villaggio, opposite Accra Mall, carrying placards bearing inscriptions such as “Sack Okudzeto Ablakwa Now”, “Unanswered Questions at Home, Damaged Credibility Abroad”, “Your Denial is not an Audit”, “Name the Flight Intermediaries”, “Chobohene Ablakwa, Give Us Our Money” and “We Need Accountability” among others.
Among the several NPP executives who joined the demonstration, dressed in red and black attire, were the party’s First National Vice Chairman, Kojo Bamba; Second National Vice Chairman, Henry Nana Boakye, Techiman South Member of Parliament (MP), Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Damongo MP, Samuel Abu Jinapor, and Deputy Minority Leader and Asokwa MP, Patricia Appiagyei, alongside several other Members of Parliament.
They marched to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and eventually to the Jubilee House, where they presented a petition to the Presidency calling for an independent audit of the evacuation funds and the dismissal of Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
NPP National Youth Organiser, Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, handed over the petition addressed to President John Mahama to the Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim. Reading out the petition, he said the party was seeking answers to what it described as discrepancies and unexplained expenditure in the evacuation exercise.
He cited figures contained in documents released by the Foreign Affairs Minister, claiming that Ghana paid US$750,000 for each of three charter flights, amounting to US$2.25 million though according to him, records available to NPP suggested that each flight should not have cost more than US$300,000, with about at least US$1.35 million that could not be accounted for.
The party further questioned expenditure on charter flights, arguing that more than half of the evacuation costs were not supported by invoices or contracts in the documents released, while questioning the reported number of evacuees, stating that although the Minister indicated that 1,964 Ghanaians had been evacuated, the charter flights reportedly carried only 900 passengers.
The National Youth Organiser, therefore, called for the publication of the full passenger and beneficiary lists to clarify the discrepancy, adding that some evacuees had disputed the amounts they allegedly received.
The NPP also called for an independent investigation into alleged sale of diplomatic and service passports to unqualified persons, stating that such investigation should not be conducted by the Minister himself but the Attorney-General and the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The party also called for the publication of the original flight invoices, contracts and names of all intermediaries involved in the evacuation exercise, publication of the full passenger and beneficiary lists, an independent audit of the evacuation expenditure, publication of all diplomatic and service passports issued since January within 14 days, and dismissal of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Receiving the petition, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, thanked the demonstrators for presenting their concerns and assured them that the petition would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for the necessary attention.
She said the Presidency remained open to citizens and would continue to receive members of the public, including those from the opposition, with dignity and respect, noting that the NPP had previously visited the Presidency to present concerns, and said the administration had consistently extended the courtesies required to them.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah