A political row is brewing over the government’s evacuation efforts in South Africa, with Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, accusing the administration of prioritising public relations over the urgent task of bringing stranded Ghanaians home.

The Damongo MP on Tuesday challenged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to shift its focus from publicity surrounding the arrival of the first batch of evacuees and concentrate on evacuating the nearly 1,500 Ghanaians who have reportedly registered with Ghana’s mission in South Africa.

Speaking to journalists in Parliament, Jinapor argued that government officials appeared more concerned with media optics than addressing the concerns of hundreds of Ghanaians still awaiting evacuation.

“Public relations is all well and good. Branding is all well and good. Welcoming people and singing is all fine. But at the end of the day, what people are looking out for is that we get the job done,” he said.

His criticism comes amid concerns over the reported suspension of registration for stranded nationals seeking evacuation. Jinapor questioned why the process had been halted and demanded answers from the Foreign Affairs Minister on the logistical challenges affecting the operation and the timeline for resuming registrations.

The opposition lawmaker further pressed government to explain what measures are being taken to protect Ghanaians who remain in South Africa as uncertainty grows over their return.

In a direct comparison with previous evacuation exercises, Jinapor pointed to large-scale repatriation efforts undertaken during past crises, including the Liberian and Sierra Leonean civil wars and the evacuation of thousands of Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“We evacuated almost 9,000 people, not 300,” he said, suggesting that Ghana has the experience and capacity to undertake a more robust evacuation effort.

The comments signal growing opposition pressure on the government over its handling of the situation, with Jinapor insisting that success should be measured by the number of citizens safely returned home rather than the publicity surrounding the exercise.

While acknowledging the ministry’s efforts in organising the first evacuation flight, he maintained that government must now focus on what he described as the “substantive work” of bringing relief to the hundreds of Ghanaians still stranded in South Africa.