The controversy surrounding Ghana’s evacuation of citizens from South Africa must be resolved through a thorough examination of financial records, rather than allowing alleged discrepancies in payment documentation to fuel unproven claims of financial misconduct, Fraud and Security Analyst Richard Kumadoe has argued.
Speaking on Radio Gold, Mr Kumadoe questioned the conclusions being drawn from the disputed expenditure records, stressing that only a proper financial or forensic audit could establish whether the discrepancies amounted to administrative lapses or actual wrongdoing.
He also urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen its payment verification and documentation procedures to prevent similar controversies in future evacuation exercises.
His comments follow concerns raised by the Minority over the government’s reported GH¢49.72 million evacuation expenditure, including alleged discrepancies in payment registers, supporting documents and allowances paid to returning Ghanaians.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has maintained that the evacuation exercise was properly documented and that the relevant records had been made available for scrutiny.
Mr Kumadoe acknowledged the importance of financial accountability but argued that some of the controversy could have been avoided through a more comprehensive system of payment acknowledgements and reconciliation.
He proposed that future evacuation exercises should involve individually documented transactions, with beneficiaries and relevant officials signing receipts to confirm payments.
According to him, evacuees should retain copies of their acknowledgements while the Ministry preserves the originals for auditing and financial reconciliation.
The security analyst also questioned the practice of demanding additional proof from beneficiaries who had already confirmed receiving their allowances, explaining that investigators should examine the available payment records before drawing conclusions about alleged discrepancies.
Drawing on his accounting and financial management experience, Mr Kumadoe stressed the importance of distinguishing material financial irregularities from minor administrative or documentation errors.
He argued that discrepancies must be assessed professionally to establish whether they resulted from record-keeping weaknesses or actual financial misconduct.
Mr Kumadoe noted that Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had indicated that the Ministry provided documents requested under the Right to Information process and supported an audit of the expenditure.
He maintained that the Auditor-General, police and relevant security agencies had the authority to investigate suspected wrongdoing, including through a specialised fraud audit where necessary.
According to him, the available investigative and auditing mechanisms provided a credible means of resolving the controversy without relying on competing political claims.
Mr Kumadoe urged the Foreign Affairs Ministry to strengthen financial documentation in future evacuation exercises while encouraging those alleging irregularities to submit their concerns to the appropriate investigative institutions.
