Xenophobia: Ghana rejects MTN’s donation for affected Ghanaians

Ghana has declined a donation offer of GH¢20 million (N2.4 billion) from MTN to support Ghanaian victims of the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

It declared that the government already made adequate financial provision for the evacuation and reintegration of Ghanaian citizens affected by the recent wave of xenophobia in South Africa.

The country has so far evacuated more than 1,500 Ghanaian citizens from South Africa after the recent wave of xenophobic attacks broke out in April.

Authorities repatriated a first batch of 300 Ghanaians in May. Another group of 1,000 citizens were repatriated in June. Last month, the authorities disclosed that another batch of 900 Ghanaians would be repatriated.

According to Ghanaian authorities, they have made the required care and support available to these citizens.

“The Government of Ghana commends MTN for the offer; however, we respectfully decline,” it said.

“The position of the Government of Ghana had earlier been directly conveyed to the Board Chair and CEO of MTN when they called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (MP) on August 14, 2026.

“Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana remains fully committed to current humanitarian evacuations and reintegration financial support for every Ghanaian brought back from harm’s way.”

PREMIUM TIMES reports that South Africa-owned MTN is the continent’s largest mobile telephone network and has a strong presence in many African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria.

In its statement, the Ghanaian ministry also declared that it intends to share “a comprehensive account of the total cost of evacuations” with the public once the exercise is concluded.

READ ALSO: Xenophobia: 83 Nigerians return from South Africa, FG says 90 killed since 2022

“The government will continue to create the best business ecosystem for all international brands operating in Ghana to succeed, irrespective of which country their businesses originated from,” it said.

The rise of new wave xenophobic violence in Pretoria caused a diplomatic fallout between South Africa and many African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria. Many of the affected countries are also repatriating citizens.

On Wednesday, 67 Nigerians arrived in the country as the latest batch in an ongoing evacuation exercise.

Last month, President Bola Tinubu also snubbed a special South African delegation sent by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and instead directed the visiting team to meet with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye.