The leader of the Aggrieved South Africa Evacuees, Micheal Addo, has dismissed claims that some Ghanaians repatriated from South Africa received only GH¢500 in transport allowances while others were given GH¢5,000 as reintegration support.
According to him, all members of the group received their respective support packages upon arrival in Ghana, contrary to allegations circulating in the public domain.
“The claims that some people received only the 500 transportation allowance while others received only the 5,000 reintegration allowance are all false. We want to place on record that we all received the package on our respective dates of arrival,” he stated.
His comments come amid public scrutiny of the government’s reported GH¢49.72 million expenditure on evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa.
Mr Addo explained that the returnees were provided with reintegration packages to support their resettlement and adjustment to life in Ghana.
He further alleged that some members of the group had received telephone calls and coaching intended to persuade them to make statements against the government.
“We are aware that some members of our groups have received calls and coaching to speak against the government, but our conscience will not allow us to do so,” he alleged.
He stressed that political affiliation should not influence the accounts given by beneficiaries of the evacuation exercise, insisting that honesty must take precedence over partisan considerations.
“Even if we support the opposition party rather than the government of the day, it is only fair that we state the facts and refuse to allow petty politics to make us liars,” he said.
Mr Addo maintained that the group was not seeking to defend the government against legitimate scrutiny but rather to clarify what its members had received.
“We are not here to speak for the government, but we are certain in our hearts that we received the best treatment and support as Ghanaians when we needed it most,” he added.
He reiterated the group’s appreciation for the assistance provided during the evacuation and urged the public to distinguish between legitimate demands for accountability and what he described as inaccurate claims about the support received by returnees.