Ghana’s High Commission in Pretoria has admitted clerical errors in the records of 15 out of 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa, following reports questioning the payment of reintegration and transportation allowances to individuals whose recorded dates of birth appeared to fall in the future.
The High Commission attributed the discrepancies to errors in transcribing passport details, explaining that dates interpreted as birth dates were actually passport expiry dates. It accepted responsibility for the mistakes and confirmed that it had submitted an amended list containing corrected information.
“Our verification of the records indicates that the dates interpreted as dates of birth were, in fact, passport expiry dates”.
Ghana’s High Commission in Pretoria
The High Commission’s statement followed a JoyNews data analysis programme and related media reports suggesting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had paid reintegration and transportation allowances to evacuees whose recorded birth dates appeared to be in the future.
The mission acknowledged the reports and explained that the discrepancies resulted from mistakes in recording passport information. The Vaultz News has not independently reviewed the original JoyNews analysis and therefore relies on the High Commission’s description of the findings.
Ghana undertook the evacuation exercise to bring home citizens affected by xenophobic attacks in South Africa. The exercise involved transporting Ghanaians in batches, with the High Commission identifying 1,964 people as the total number of evacuees covered by the records in question.
The controversy centres on the accuracy of the administrative information used to document the exercise and whether the apparent discrepancies affected the validity of the payments made to those evacuated.
High Commission Accepts Responsibility for 15 Errors
The High Commission confirmed that the errors affected 15 individuals among the 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa. It described the discrepancies as minor clerical mistakes, attributing them to the difficult circumstances surrounding an emergency evacuation involving thousands of distressed citizens.
The mission acknowledged that officials could have made mistakes while copying information from passports into the relevant records. “Clerical errors may have occurred during the transcription of some passport details by our officials,” the statement noted.
It argued that such mistakes were not unusual under emergency and traumatic circumstances, although it did not provide details on the specific process through which the errors occurred or the checks that failed to identify them earlier.
The High Commission accepted responsibility for the inaccuracies and indicated that it had corrected the affected records.
Mission Defends Evacuation and Allowance Payments
Despite acknowledging the errors, the High Commission maintained that every Ghanaian evacuated from South Africa underwent the required identification, data-processing and departure procedures before leaving the country.
It insisted that the discrepancies did not invalidate the identities of the individuals involved, their participation in the evacuation exercise or the allowances they received.
“These minor clerical errors do not invalidate the identities of the evacuees, their participation in the evacuation exercise, or the fact that they received the approved reintegration and transportation allowances”.
Ghana’s High Commission in Pretoria
The mission’s position is that the errors concerned the transcription of passport information rather than the legitimacy of the evacuation itself or the payments made to the affected individuals.
Amended Records Address Jibril Family Details
The High Commission attached an amended list containing corrected information for the 15 individuals, including their verified details and passport information.
The Vaultz News has chosen not to publish their names, dates of birth or passport numbers to protect their personal information. The occupations listed include footballers, hairdressers, barbers and a security worker.
The statement also addressed the records of the Jibril family, comprising a mother and five children. According to the mission, the family travelled on Emergency Travel Certificates, a detail reflected in the amended list.
The High Commission indicated that it had provided the corrected information to facilitate updates to official records and ensure that the public received accurate information about the evacuation exercise.
The amended list is intended to resolve the discrepancies identified in the records, although the statement did not specify when the original errors were first discovered or how long the incorrect information had remained in the system.
Questions Remain Over Passport Records and Payments
Although the High Commission has explained the apparent future birth dates, aspects of the records remain unclear. The amended list reportedly contains passport expiry dates of 2016 for one individual and 2023 for two others, all earlier than the evacuation exercise.
The statement did not explain how those documents were handled or clarify whether the individuals travelled using other valid documentation. At the time of writing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had not commented on the statement, according to the information available to The Vaultz News.
These unanswered questions leave room for further clarification on the administrative processes used to verify evacuee identities, record passport details and document the distribution of allowances.
High Commission Urges Media to Use Corrected Records
The High Commission reaffirmed its respect for the media’s role in promoting transparency and accountability, while encouraging journalists to consult the appropriate official sources when apparent discrepancies arise in administrative records.
It also expressed pride in the efforts and sacrifices made by officials to evacuate Ghanaians safely from South Africa. The mission indicated that it remained available to provide further clarification and urged the media and the public to rely on the verified and corrected records.
While the statement acknowledges responsibility for the 15 clerical errors, questions about the timing of their discovery, the handling of expired passport records and the verification of allowance payments remain unresolved.
