Ghana Spends GH¢49.7M Evacuating Citizens From South Africa
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Ghana Spends GH¢49.7M Evacuating Citizens From South Africa, Ablakwa Proposes Diaspora Fund
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has revealed that government spent a total of GH¢49.72 million to evacuate 1,964 citizens caught up in a wave of xenophobic attacks in the country.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, September 7, 2026, Ablakwa walked journalists through exactly how the funding was structured. Government covered GH¢33.7 million of the total, while private partner Engineers & Planners contributed another GH¢16 million.
Digging into the numbers further, GH¢38.84 million went toward chartered flights, tickets, ground transportation, feeding, accommodation, and medical care for evacuees. A separate GH¢10.80 million was allocated for reintegration and transportation allowances, with every returnee receiving GH¢5,500 to help them get back on their feet. A smaller amount, GH¢84,274, covered the repatriation of two mortal remains.
Ablakwa was careful to frame South Africa as just one chapter in a larger, ongoing effort. He noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working alongside its diplomatic missions and international partners, has been consistently working to rescue Ghanaians facing hardship in various countries.
The numbers back that up. Between 2025 and September 2026, a total of 4,972 distressed Ghanaians have been safely brought home from crises abroad.
Here’s how that figure breaks down by country:
- Libya: 3,807 citizens
- Côte d’Ivoire: 440 citizens (victims of QNET schemes and demolition exercises)
- Nigeria: 246 citizens (QNET scheme victims)
- Cambodia: 244 citizens
- Algeria: 201 citizens
- Kuwait: 18 citizens
- Sierra Leone: 8 citizens
- Mauritius: 5 citizens
- Morocco: 2 citizens
- Iraq: 1 citizen
Ablakwa didn’t shy away from acknowledging just how much strain these repeated rescue operations put on the country’s resources. Each new crisis brings fresh financial and logistical demands, and relying on ad-hoc funding each time isn’t sustainable in the long run.
Ablakwa announced plans to establish a Ghanaian Diaspora Consular Fund. The idea is to create a dedicated, ongoing emergency funding mechanism, so government can respond quickly whenever Ghanaians abroad find themselves in distress, rather than scrambling to piece together resources each time a new crisis hits.
