National Tymes News Desk
THE Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Hon. Bernard Bediako Baidoo, popularly known as Lawyer B.B., has challenged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to compare its record on evacuating Ghanaians from distress situations abroad with that of the current Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day programme this morning, Lawyer B.B. said Ablakwa had overseen the evacuation of more than 6,300 Ghanaians from various distress situations across the world, demonstrating what he described as a strong commitment to protecting Ghanaian citizens abroad.
He listed countries including South Africa, Libya, Myanmar, Cambodia, Israel, Iran, Latvia, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Netherlands among the locations from which Ghanaians had been evacuated.
In the case of South Africa, he said, 1,964 Ghanaians were successfully brought home following renewed xenophobic attacks.
He also cited the evacuation of Ghanaians from Israel and Iran, explaining that some were transported through land borders into Turkey.
Lawyer B.B. further mentioned the closure of Ghana’s Embassy in Tehran as part of measures taken to protect diplomatic staff during the Middle East conflict.
He said the government had also reported zero Ghanaian casualties in the conflict.
NPP’s COVID-19 Evacuation Record:
Turning his attention to the NPP’s record in government, Lawyer B.B. questioned the party’s criticism of Ablakwa, particularly regarding the cost and support provided to Ghanaians evacuated during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
He revealed that the NPP government spent GH¢96.97 million on the COVID-19 evacuation exercise, almost twice the GH¢49.7 million spent on the recent South Africa evacuation.
According to him, much of the money went into quarantine arrangements, with about GH¢44 million reportedly spent on quarantine facilities.
He further argued that, unlike the current arrangement under Ablakwa, many of the returnees during the COVID-19 period had to bear the costs of their own air tickets, quarantine and COVID-19 tests.
He said the NPP government did not provide the returnees with the GH¢5,000 reintegration support and GH¢500 transport allowance being given to the recent evacuees.
“They spent GH¢97 million and gave evacuees nothing. Ablakwa spent GH¢49.7 million and gave every evacuee GH¢5,500 in two envelopes, in front of the media at Kotoka. And they call him a thief?” Lawyer B.B. asked.
He also disclosed that Ablakwa had called for a special audit of all evacuation exercises undertaken since 2017, including those conducted under the previous NPP administration.
Lawyer B.B. suggested that the proposed audit would provide an opportunity for Ghanaians to compare the two administrations’ records and establish how public funds were used.
He accused the NPP of hypocrisy, arguing that the party was attacking a minister whose record, in his view, compared favourably with its own performance in government.
“The problem facing this country is hypocrisy – NPP hypocrisy,” he pointed out.
Source: Nationaltymes.com
