Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Anani Quashie, has attributed discrepancies in the records of Ghanaians evacuated from the country to clerical errors, explaining that passport expiry dates were mistakenly entered as dates of birth for 15 individuals.
He maintained that the errors did not invalidate the identities of the affected evacuees or their participation in the exercise, although he acknowledged that the records should have been checked more carefully before being submitted.
The clarification follows a JoyNews data analysis that identified questionable dates of birth in records relating to the evacuation, raising concerns about whether reintegration and transportation allowances had been paid to individuals whose recorded birth dates appeared to fall in the future.
In an interview, Mr. Quashie explained that the errors came as a surprise to the mission when officials reviewed the records following the concerns raised.
“In fact, we didn’t know that these clerical and typographical errors were there. So it came to us as a shock when we had to go through the list and then we found those errors,” he stated.
The High Commissioner attributed the discrepancies to the process of transferring information from travel documents into administrative records, noting that the evacuation involved several stages of registration, verification and departure processing.
According to him, evacuees were registered at the Ghanaian mission and subjected to checks involving South Africa’s Border Management Authority, immigration officials and the South African Police Service before their departure.
He argued that the multiple stages and personnel involved in processing the evacuees created room for human error.
However, the High Commission acknowledged responsibility for the errors and issued a statement on October 19 providing corrected information for the 15 affected individuals out of the 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa.
The mission explained that its verification showed that the dates interpreted as future birth dates were, in fact, passport expiry dates that had been incorrectly transcribed into the records.
It also maintained that all evacuees underwent the required identification, data-processing and departure formalities before leaving South Africa.
The controversy followed a JoyNews review that identified entries with dates of birth that appeared impossible, including a record for James Akoto Baffour showing 2036 as the year of birth and another entry listing February 31, a date that does not exist.
The discrepancies intensified scrutiny of the documentation supporting the evacuation, amid wider questions raised by the Minority in Parliament about gaps in the records and alleged inflation of chartered flight costs.
The Minority has also called for greater transparency over the expenditure associated with the exercise, which has been reported at approximately GH¢49.72 million.
In its statement, the High Commission provided corrected details, including dates of birth and passport expiry dates, for the individuals whose records were affected. It said the amended information had been submitted to facilitate updates to the official records.
The mission further clarified that six members of the Jibril family, comprising a mother and five children, travelled on Emergency Travel Certificates.
While insisting that the discrepancies did not invalidate the identities of the evacuees or their eligibility for the approved reintegration and transportation allowances, the clarification addresses the specific date-related errors rather than resolving all the broader questions surrounding the evacuation records and expenditure.
The High Commission said it respected the media’s role in promoting transparency and accountability and encouraged verification with official sources when discrepancies emerged in administrative records.
Related Posts
