Janet Nabla questions reported $750,000 cost of charter flight in Ghana's South Africa evacuation
Why It MattersThe dispute shows how government-chartered evacuation flights, bought urgently and outside routine tendering, invite public benchmarking against commercial charter prices, so cost transparency becomes part of the operation's credibility.
What happened
Janet Asana Nabla, the former People's National Party presidential candidate, has questioned the $750,000 cost of one of the charter flights used in Ghana's evacuation operation in South Africa, saying the amount requires a proper explanation. She raised the concern during a panel discussion on Joy Prime about the controversy over Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa's handling of the evacuation.
Nabla referred to three flights the minister is said to have arranged on May 29, June 6 and June 7. According to her, Ablakwa stated that one of them was chartered for $750,000. She argued that charter flights between Ghana and South Africa typically cost between GHC150,000 and GHC300,000, and that no such flight could be picked up for GHC750,000.
Nabla said the $750,000 figure was far higher than the prices she believed were charged for similar flights, and she demanded an explanation of how the cost was determined. She also questioned why such a large sum would be spent without a detailed account of expenses, saying the cost was among the issues that made her question the transparency of the operation, and she called for the figures to be properly explained.
Industry impact & what to watch
Government evacuation charters are usually arranged on short notice, which means they are bought as one-off missions rather than through the competitive quoting that applies to routine charter work. That is why the price paid becomes contestable afterwards: the only available yardstick is what comparable commercial flights cost, and that is precisely the comparison Nabla is making.
Price in this segment depends on factors a headline figure does not reveal, including aircraft type and size, routing, crew positioning, and how quickly the aircraft had to be sourced. A single cost quoted without a breakdown can therefore look out of line with market rates or be fully justified, and outsiders cannot tell which until the terms are disclosed.
The item that would settle the question is an itemised account from the Foreign Affairs Ministry covering the charter operator, the aircraft used and the basis on which the price was set. Until that comes from the ministry, the dispute rests on the minister's reported figure and a critic's estimate of typical rates.
