Accra:The Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has raised concerns over discrepancies in the payment records for Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa. Aboagye questioned whether all beneficiaries received the full GHS5,500 allowance, as intended.
According to Ghana Web, Aboagye highlighted inconsistencies in the documents provided by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. Although Ablakwa claims that all 1,964 evacuees received the full allowance, records indicate only 1,001 individuals signed for the GHS500 transport allowance.
Aboagye pointed out that while Ablakwa's records showed 1,964 evacuees received GHS5,500 each, the payment sheets only had signatures from 1,001 for the transport component and 1,508 recorded for just the GHS500. Furthermore, a comparison of the payment lists revealed only 824 names appeared on both lists.
He further explained that evacuees were supposed to sign at two separate desks for the GHS5,000 allowance and the GHS500 transport component. However, the provided documents did not conclusively show that every evacuee received both payments.
The remarks from Aboagye followed a challenge by Ablakwa to the Minority in Parliament to identify any evacuee who did not receive the allowance. Ablakwa has dismissed allegations of unaccounted funds as an attempt to create a scandal, yet the discrepancies in the records have fueled ongoing disputes over the completeness of the payment distribution.