Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, has pushed back against claims by South African immigration authorities that only a handful of Ghanaians evacuated were legally resident in the country.
His comments follow the arrival of the first batch of Ghanaian evacuees in Accra on Wednesday, May 27, under a government-coordinated evacuation exercise prompted by rising xenophobic tensions and safety concerns in parts of South Africa.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Thursday, May 28, Mr Quashie insisted that the majority of the 300 Ghanaians presented for the first evacuation possessed valid immigration documents.
“Let me put on record that 80% of the 300 people that we presented for the first repatriation have documents that were legitimate documents and legal documents, so they were legal immigrants in South Africa,” he stated.
His remarks contrast sharply with comments made by South Africa’s Head of Immigration and Law Enforcement, Stephen van Neel, who told reporters at OR Tambo International Airport that only 10 of the nearly 300 Ghanaians on the evacuation list were found to be legally resident in the country.
“Of the 300 individuals that were on that list, we only found 10 of them to be legal in the country,” Van Neel said, adding that authorities were investigating widespread immigration violations and considering sanctions.
The differing accounts have intensified questions surrounding the legal status of some of the returnees and the broader circumstances under which the evacuation exercise is being conducted.
Mr Quashie, however, maintained that many of the evacuees opted to return home voluntarily due to growing fears over their safety amid heightened anti-immigration sentiment in South Africa.
He further disclosed that another group of approximately 500 Ghanaians is expected to return home between Thursday and Wednesday next week as the evacuation process continues.
“I am aware that it is between today and Wednesday of next week, the other 500 of our compatriots will come home,” he revealed.
More than 800 Ghanaians are said to have registered for voluntary evacuation following concerns over xenophobic attacks and rising hostility toward foreign nationals.
The repatriation exercise, announced earlier this month by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, forms part of government efforts to ensure the safety of Ghanaian nationals living in South Africa.
Government has pledged transport support, reintegration assistance, psychosocial counselling and access to employment and start-up support programmes for returnees.
The first batch of evacuees was received at Kotoka International Airport on Wednesday by a government delegation led by Chief of Staff Julius Debrah and Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
