ACCRA, June 8– The Ghanaian government has received the last batch of its nationals evacuated from South Africa amid ongoing anti-immigrant activities in the country.
The 342 nationals, who arrived on Sunday at the Accra International Airport aboard a chartered Ethiopian Airlines flight, bring the total number of Ghanaian returnees from South Africa close to 1,000.
The arrivals were the last batch of evacuees under the government’s support program, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced late Saturday.
While welcoming the returnees, Deputy Foreign Minister James Gyakye Quayson said that they arrived home with skills and experiences that the government is willing to leverage for national development efforts.
He pledged the government’s resolve to support any of them with a health crisis for full treatment under the free primary health care program, adding that each of them would receive funds both for transportation back to their final destinations and a resettlement fund for their upkeep.
Israel Ahmed, one of the returnees, said in an interview with Xinhua that he wished the Ghanaian government to dialogue with its South African counterpart to resolve the problems facing Ghanaians.
South Africa has recently witnessed a wave of anti-immigration demonstrations, which prompted some African countries to evacuate nationals willing to return to their homelands. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
