Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has called for greater transparency over the GH¢49.72 million spent by the government to evacuate 1,900 Ghanaians from South Africa.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story, Mr Jinapor said while the government’s decision to protect Ghanaians caught up in renewed xenophobic attacks was necessary, the expenditure must also be properly accounted for.

He said the Minority in Parliament supported the government and other stakeholders when the crisis emerged, describing the situation as disturbing.

Mr Jinapor stressed, however, that the protection of citizens’ lives should not be reduced to a monetary calculation, while insisting that transparency and value for money remained important principles of public expenditure.

“We cannot begin to quantify monetary expenses or value when it comes to lives of our citizens,” he said on Monday, September 7.

His comments follow Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s disclosure that GH¢49.72 million was spent on the evacuation exercise.

Mr Ablakwa said GH¢38.84 million went towards chartered flights, air tickets, ground transportation, feeding, accommodation and medical care for the evacuated Ghanaians.

A further GH¢10.80 million was spent on reintegration support and transportation allowances, while GH¢84,274 was used to repatriate the mortal remains of two Ghanaians.

Mr Jinapor said the figures released by the government suggested an average expenditure of approximately GH¢25,000 per evacuee, equivalent to about US$2,200 per person.

He said the calculation was not meant to place a monetary value on the lives of the citizens rescued, but to demonstrate why the Ministry should provide further details on how the money was spent.

“If you take the figures the government put out, the Ministry is suggesting that they spent close to 50 million cedis to evacuate close to 2,000 Ghanaians,” he said.

Mr Jinapor therefore urged the Foreign Affairs Ministry to publish a detailed account of the expenditure, arguing that such disclosure would serve the interests of transparency, good governance and the nation.

“It will be useful for the Ministry to put out the details,” he added.