President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently dispatched a delegation to Ghana to discuss the recurring xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa.
He announced this during a meeting with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Mahamoud Ali Youssou, at the Jubilee House in Accra on Wednesday, July 22.
According to him, he used the meeting with the delegation to stress the need for greater openness in addressing the issue.
President Mahama said Ghana’s decision to raise concerns over the attacks was not intended to strain relations with South Africa but to promote transparency and accountability.
He assured that Ghana harbours no malice towards South Africa but is raising the issue to allow the country to explain to the international community the measures it is taking to address the situation.
“On, July 21, President Cyril Ramaphosa sent a delegation to me, and I explained the reason why we need to discuss it. Sometimes these things happen, and we want to sweep them under the carpet, but when we do that, we do not cure what the problem is,” he said.
He added, “I told them that Ghana does not harbour any malice against South Africa, but we are raising it so it gives them the platform to explain what they are doing to the world.”
The President also renewed his call on the African Union (AU) to take a more active interest in the recurring attacks, describing them as a threat to African integration and solidarity.
He said Ghana had incurred high costs in evacuating its citizens from South Africa following the attacks.
