PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama has granted presidential approval for the immediate evacuation of 300 Ghanaians in South Africa.
The approval follows the renewed wave of xenophobic attacks on black immigrants in the southern African country.
This was made known by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“These distressed Ghanaians had earlier complied with the Foreign Ministry’s advisory and registered with our High Commission in Pretoria to be rescued following the latest wave of xenophobic attacks,” Mr Ablakwa wrote.
He assured that the Government of Ghana shall continue to safeguard the welfare of all Ghanaians home and abroad.
The intervention comes on the back of a 21-day ultimatum given undocumented Ghanaians and other illegal immigrants to leave Eastcourt, a town in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
The quit-notice issued by Mayor Mduduzi Myeza of the Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality, has sparked diplomatic fallout and legal backlash.
But Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Anani Quashie, has condemned the directive and announced imminent court action to challenge the eviction.
On Monday, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa said the recent “protests and criminal acts directed at foreign nationals” did not reflect government policy.
He described them as “isolated acts of criminality” adding that his country would “regulate migration, secure our borders and enforce our laws”.
Xenophobic violence has been a recurring issue in South Africa, with studies identifying hundreds of deaths, such as the 62 people killed in 2008 and a dozen in 2019.
Research from Xenowatch indicated over 300 deaths from 529 recorded incidents of xenophobic violence between 1994 and 2018.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
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