The Minority in Parliament has criticised the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over what they describe as “funfair” surrounding the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

The position of the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, relates to events held at the Accra International Airport to receive the first batch of 297 evacuees, especially as another group is expected to arrive soon.

Mr Jinapor said government should rather intensify efforts to provide relief to stranded citizens in South Africa as attacks on foreigners escalate.

“So the Minister for Foreign Affairs should focus on delivery. He should focus on the substantive work and pay less attention to public relations.

“Public relations is all well and good. Branding is all well and good. Communication, social media and all the razzmatazz of welcoming people and singing and all of those are all fine. But at the end of the day, what people are looking for, both our compatriots here in Ghana and those in South Africa, is that we get the job done.”

He argued that Ghana has a history of evacuating citizens during crises, citing previous governments.

“This is not the first time Ghana is delivering on this. President Rawlings did it in Liberia and Sierra Leone during civil conflicts. His government evacuated hundreds and thousands of Ghanaians, and we did not have any funfair,” he said.

“Under President Akufo-Addo, we evacuated people from Ukraine during COVID-19. We evacuated almost 9,000 people. The number the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is dealing with now is about 300 people. It is commendable that the ministry is able to repatriate some Ghanaians, but that is just the first flight.”

Mr Jinapor further stated that about 1,500 Ghanaians in South Africa are still registered and seeking evacuation, while expressing concern over reports that registration had been suspended.

“There are legitimate questions to be asked: why has registration been suspended? When will it resume? What logistical constraints led to the suspension? What measures are being put in place to protect them while they remain there?” he asked.

He stressed the need for government to prioritise concrete action over publicity.

“We should downplay the PR and the razzmatazz a bit and focus on the substantive work to bring relief to Ghanaians in South Africa.”