Next Batch of Ghanaians Evacuating From South Africa Delaying, Ablakwa Explains Reason
- Foreign Minister Ablakwa has explained the reason for delays in evacuating stranded Ghanaians from South Africa
- The first batch of 300 evacuees arrived in Accra on May 27, amid anti-immigrant agitation in South Africa
- President John Mahama has emphasised a commitment to ensuring no Ghanaian in distress is left behind
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has attributed the delays in evacuating the second batch of Ghanaians voluntarily willing to leave South Africa to the finalisation of chartered flight permits.
Ablakwa said the process for the permit was still underway.
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Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the Korea–Africa Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Seoul on June 1, Ablakwa said the permits were the only hitch.
“I can assure you that all is set for the next batch to arrive. We’re just waiting for the South African authorities to finalise our request for the flight permits so that our chartered jets can move in and bring all the Ghanaians who have registered."
The first batch of 300 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa arrived in Accra on May 27.
The evacuees included 26 persons detained for visa violations in South Africa.
Ablakwa stressed that President John Mahama had directed that no Ghanaian in distress should be left behind.
“Thanks to the compassionate leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, he has said that all Ghanaians in harm’s way, in distress, who are being harassed, being dehumanised, we should not leave anyone behind. Our foreign policy is that of compassion, and that of leaving no Ghanaian behind."
About the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa
Over 300 Ghanaian nationals queued at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport to board one of the first flights home after waves of anti-immigrant protests in South Africa heightened safety concerns.
The group of 300 people included women and children, in what authorities described as a voluntary repatriation process for Ghanaian citizens who say they no longer feel safe.
Benjamin Quashie, Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa, earlier said 826 Ghanaians had signed up to be evacuated from South Africa.
The nationwide protests led by the interest group March and March in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape have called for non-South Africans to leave the country by the end of June.
Some Ghanaians have already suffered violent attacks, according to reports.
For example, a 42-year-old Ghanaian hairdresser was subjected to a violent xenophobic attack in Johannesburg.
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The woman, identified only as Ms Akuffo, had reportedly been in South Africa for over 20 years.
Earlier on Wednesday, one Ghanaian preparing to leave said repeated harassment had driven the decision.
Ghanaian stranded in South Africa cries
YEN.com.gh reported that a young Ghanaian man living in South Africa cried to return to his home country with a wish to see his mother.
The young man who looked sad indicated that he went to the airport in South Africa when he learned that the government was arranging a flight for Ghanaians who wished to return home due to the xenophobic attacks in the country.
He went to the airport but did not meet any officials to help him return home. It was later disclosed that the date for departure had been changed.
Source: YEN.com.gh
