Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, has defended the team responsible for evacuating Ghanaians fleeing xenophobic attacks in the country, saying the 15 errors identified in the records of 1,964 evacuees should not overshadow the team’s efforts.
The errors came to light after the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria acknowledged clerical mistakes in the records of 15 evacuees, following a data analysis that raised concerns about the payment of reintegration and transportation allowances to individuals whose recorded dates of birth appeared to be in the future.
Speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Mr Quashie said the mistakes occurred amid intense pressure to organise the evacuation and ensure the safe return of affected Ghanaians.
“If out of 1,964 and we’ve made errors in just 15 names, I think that we deserve a pat on the back, especially with the kind of pressure we had and how we had to quickly improvise and ensure that there was value for money,” he said.
“We had to quickly work around the clock to get them out of harm’s way and get them into Ghana,” he added.
Addressing concerns about discrepancies in the evacuation records, Mr Quashie denied that the High Commission had misrepresented information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He explained that the information submitted to the ministry had been provided by South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA), which conducts the final screening of evacuees at the airport before they board their flights.
He said three agencies were involved in the process: South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, the BMA and the Ghana High Commission.
Mr Quashie explained that after screening the evacuees, the BMA provided the High Commission with documents containing their names, passport numbers, dates of birth and other personal details.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com
