Accra: The 2024 presidential candidate of the People's National Party (PNP), Janet Nabla, has questioned the government's decision to reject a GHS20 million donation from MTN towards efforts to assist Ghanaians affected by xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Nabla expressed confusion over the government's decision, especially given that a significantly larger amount of taxpayers' money was later spent on the evacuation of Ghanaians from the country.
According to Ghana Web, Nabla found the rejection of the donation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs surprising, emphasizing that the government could have accepted the GHS20 million while still utilizing public funds for evacuation and other necessary interventions. Nabla questioned the rationale behind not accepting the donation and still opting to use taxpayers' money for the evacuation process.
Speaking on Adom FM's Dwaso Nsem on September 11, 2026, Nabla argued that the GHS20 million could have been directed towards addressing other pressing national needs, particularly challenges in the education sector. She pointed out that the decision was made without consulting Ghanaians, who could have benefitted from the funds.
Nabla also called for transparency regarding the government's expenditure, stressing that the funds used were taxpayers' money and not party dues from the National Democratic Congress (NDC). She suggested that Ghana could have considered similar approaches to Nigeria in evacuating its citizens or sought assistance from South Africa to compensate for the harm caused to Ghanaians during the attacks.
Her comments come amid growing concerns over the government's reported GHS49.7 million expenditure on the evacuation exercise.