Dr Joshua Zaato, Senior Fellow at Africa Policy Lens and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, has accused the government of using the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa as a cover for alleged corruption and exploitation.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day Zaato said the exercise was presented as a humanitarian intervention to rescue Ghanaians facing xenophobic attacks, but argued that questions about the handling of public funds had undermined that objective.
He likened the government’s intervention to a Trojan horse, a gift that conceals a hidden threat.
“Ghanaians should beware of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the government bearing gifts,” he said.
Zaato said the government had presented the evacuation as an act of compassion towards Ghanaians experiencing difficulties in South Africa.
“The government said we were extending a hand of help to you to bring you home. The government said we wouldn’t leave you there to swallow,” he said.
However, he alleged that the exercise had become a means of concealing financial misconduct rather than a straightforward humanitarian operation.
“Today we are seeing that that gift, that Trojan horse, was nothing but a cover-up for corruption, for exploitation, and for duping the good people of this country using the mass suffering of Ghanaians in Africa as a solid conduit,” he said.
His comments come amid controversy over the accounting of money reportedly spent on the evacuation, with questions being raised about the documentation and disbursement of funds.
Zaato maintained that the humanitarian purpose of the exercise should not prevent scrutiny of how the operation was conducted and public money managed.
