Samuel Jinapor denies Minority coached South Africa evacuees to criticise government

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has dismissed allegations that the Minority in Parliament attempted to influence Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa to speak against the government.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, October 27, Mr Jinapor said the Minority had not offered money or used any form of persuasion to get the returnees to make allegations about the government’s handling of the evacuation and associated allowances.

“Let me place on record that at no point in time did the Minority engage, pay, and/or convince any of these people,” he stated.

The denial comes a day after some of the evacuees alleged at a press conference that opposition members had tried to coach them to make statements critical of the government.

Mr Jinapor said the Minority had not orchestrated the claims, adding that some evacuees had independently spoken out over alleged differences between the amounts they were supposed to receive and the money they actually collected.

The controversy has intensified scrutiny of the evacuation exercise, with the Minority questioning aspects of the expenditure and documentation presented in connection with the payments.

Among the concerns raised are alleged duplicate entries, unsigned payment records, missing receipts and claims by some returnees that the amounts recorded against their names did not match what they received.

Although Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has offered explanations regarding the payments, Mr Jinapor said the concerns warranted an independent examination.

He reiterated the Minority’s call for an independent audit to establish whether the evacuation funds were properly accounted for and to resolve the disputed payment claims.