Ghanaians who were evacuated from South Africa after experiencing xenophobic attacks have shown their backing for the government. They’re making it clear that they won’t be pushed into making untrue claims against the government regarding the help they got when they came back home.
At a press conference on Monday, October 26, Michael Adoo spoke for the group. He claimed that certain members of the evacuee group had gotten phone calls and guidance from the opposition party telling them to criticize the government.
He explained that the group was determined to tell the truth about how the evacuation went and what assistance they received, no matter what their personal political beliefs were.
“We know that some people in our group have been called and coached to speak badly about the government, but we can’t do that in good conscience, even if we personally prefer the opposition party over the current government. The right thing to do is tell the truth and not let politics turn us into liars,” he stated.
Adoo also mentioned that the accusations of dishonesty about the evacuation process and the support given to them after returning are hurting their emotional well-being.
“All the different accusations we’ve seen in the news and having our names brought up in these conversations are damaging our mental health. We’re asking for this to stop right now. It’s important that people are held responsible.
The evacuees’ statements come as there’s been public debate about how much money the government spent on bringing people back, which reportedly totaled GH¢49,721,786 to bring 1,964 Ghanaian citizens back from South Africa.
The Minority group has questioned how much money was actually spent and raised worries about possible problems in how the money was tracked, leading to questions about the evacuation process and the help given to people who returned.