Keypoints:
- Ghana says it funded its own evacuations
- More than 1,600 citizens brought home
- Pretoria is pursuing three other governments
GHANA says it owes South Africa nothing in repatriation costs, insisting Accra independently financed the return of more than 1,600 citizens and received no financial or material assistance from Pretoria.
The clarification distances Ghana from South Africa’s attempt to recover nearly $18m in repatriation and deportation costs. Crucially, Pretoria has not named Ghana among the governments from which reimbursement is being sought, making Accra’s intervention a pre-emptive effort to remove any uncertainty over who paid for its citizens’ return.
Accra draws a clear line
Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on August 13 that the evacuation of Ghanaian nationals was fully funded by the government and Ghanaian partners.
‘Ghana did not seek any financial or material support from the South African Government to bring our fellow nationals back home,’ the ministry said.
It went further, assuring Ghanaians that ‘under no circumstances’ would the country appear among states being asked to reimburse Pretoria for repatriation costs.
More than 1,600 Ghanaians have been evacuated from South Africa since May, with the operation continuing as concerns over anti-foreigner violence and immigration tensions persist. Ghana has also provided returnees with reintegration assistance, transport support and other relief after arrival.
Africa Briefing previously reported on Ghana’s decision to evacuate citizens following attacks in South Africa</a> and Accra’s subsequent push for African Union scrutiny of xenophobic violence.
Pretoria seeks $18m recovery
South Africa’s reimbursement drive follows extraordinary expenditure associated with the repatriation and deportation of foreign nationals.
The South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs said the department had incurred about R292.77m (about $18.14m), including R203.5m ($12.61m) for buses, R48m ($2.97m) for a temporary processing centre in Musina and about R4m ($248,000) in overtime.
South African officials have said reimbursement requests were sent to Malawi, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Ghana was not included in that list.
That omission reflects the different way Accra handled its evacuation programme: Ghana organised and financed the return of its nationals rather than relying on Pretoria to shoulder the costs.
Diplomatic tensions linger
The clarification comes against an already sensitive backdrop in Ghana–South Africa relations.
Accra has repeatedly raised concerns over attacks against African migrants and previously asked the African Union to confront xenophobic violence in South Africa.
The Ghana–South Africa Bi-National Commission scheduled for August was also postponed in July amid heightened diplomatic tensions over anti-migrant violence.
The two governments have additionally disputed the circumstances surrounding the death of a Ghanaian national in Cape Town, adding another layer of tension to their diplomatic engagement.
Yet Ghana’s latest statement stops short of attacking South Africa’s right to seek reimbursement from governments that received direct assistance.
Instead, Accra’s message is narrower and unmistakable: whatever financial argument Pretoria has with other African governments, Ghana says it is not part of it.
For South Africa, the dispute over who pays for mass repatriations is likely to continue as migration enforcement costs rise. For Ghana, the government appears determined to ensure that the political and financial record is equally clear — its citizens came home on Ghana’s bill.
