Ghana evacuates citizens amid xenophobic attacks in SA

Ghana said on Tuesday it would evacuate 300 of its citizens from South Africa following a rise in xenophobic incidents in recent weeks.

Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa wrote on X that President John Dramani Mahama had approved the operation.

He said the Ghanaians had already registered with the High Commission in Pretoria to be rescued after the latest wave of xenophobic attacks, following an advisory from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The government of Ghana said it would continue to protect the welfare of all Ghanaians at home and abroad.

The decision came after a series of anti-immigrant protests in South Africa and reports of assaults and intimidation against other African nationals.

Both Nigeria and Ghana have expressed concern about the situation.

The South African government has rejected claims of xenophobia. Presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya told reporters last week that South Africans are not xenophobic. He said the protests were isolated and permitted under the constitution.

Magwenya also said Africa needs to address conflict, instability and misgovernment that drive migration across the continent.

At the end of last month, Ghana summoned South Africa’s high commissioner to protest against xenophobic incidents targeting Ghanaians.

South Africa is Africa’s largest economy and hosts more than three million foreigners, or just over five per cent of its population. However, unemployment stands at 30 per cent, which has fueled tensions with migrant workers.

The worst violence against immigrants in the past two decades occurred in 2008, when 62 people were killed. Other violent clashes happened in 2015, 2016 and 2019.

SOURCE: AFP