The diplomatic exchange follows Ghana’s decision last month to arrange flights for hundreds of its nationals seeking to leave South Africa after a wave of protests and violence targeting foreign migrants intensified in several communities.

Tensions escalated after Ghana’s embassy in Pretoria published footage showing passengers aboard a repatriation flight waving Ghanaian flags as they departed South Africa. The images drew attention across social media and prompted a sharp response from South African authorities.

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Pretoria had initially sought to assist Ghana’s government in facilitating the voluntary return of its citizens in a constructive and humanitarian manner. However, he accused some Ghanaian officials of presenting an incomplete picture of events and undermining diplomatic norms.

“Our initial hope was simply to assist the Government of Ghana in repatriating its citizens in a humane and cordial manner,” Lamola said in comments posted on X. He added that South Africa would not continue to accept what he called “public spectacles” marked by misinformation and lacking diplomatic decorum.

His remarks were directed at statements made by Ghanaian Foreign Minister Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, whose comments accompanied public discussion surrounding the evacuation effort.

The dispute highlights growing strains caused by recurring outbreaks of xenophobic sentiment in South Africa, where economic hardship and high unemployment have periodically fueled hostility toward foreign nationals. With unemployment exceeding 30%, migrants are often blamed by some groups for competition over jobs, housing and public services.

South Africa has long attracted both documented and undocumented workers from across the continent due to its comparatively diversified economy and greater employment opportunities. However, periodic anti-immigrant violence has remained a persistent challenge for successive governments.

Recent tensions intensified after a widely circulated video appeared to show a Ghanaian national being assaulted, sparking outrage among migrant communities and prompting renewed calls for protection of foreign residents.

The repatriation flights organized by Ghana underscore growing concerns among African governments about the safety of their citizens living in South Africa. At the same time, the public disagreement between Pretoria and Accra reflects the diplomatic sensitivities surrounding migration, public security and regional relations as authorities seek to manage the fallout from renewed anti-foreigner unrest.

Neither government has indicated any immediate change in bilateral relations, but the exchange has drawn attention to the broader challenge of addressing xenophobic violence while preserving regional cooperation and freedom of movement across the continent.

Most of those displaced are from Malawi and Mozambique. Many said they spent nights hiding in nearby mountains and bushland before seeking shelter in community centers in towns including Gansbaai, Kleinmond and Stanford.

The unrest follows weeks of protests against undocumented migrants that escalated into violence over the weekend. In Mossel Bay, 55 shacks were burned, while authorities reported the deaths of Mozambican nationals amid the tensions.

Local officials said more than 500 people fled their homes in the Gansbaai area alone. Witnesses alleged that groups carrying sticks, whips and other weapons targeted foreign residents regardless of their immigration status.

Mozambique said five of its citizens were killed as a direct result of the attacks and reported that hundreds had already returned home. Ghana and Nigeria have also organized repatriation efforts for affected nationals.
South African authorities have deployed officials to assist displaced migrants with documentation and voluntary return arrangements as fears of further violence persist.

The amnesty, which runs through June, is a key element of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s strategy to address labor shortages and support economic growth in a country with an aging population. The measure is expected to benefit migrants working across sectors, including agriculture, where undocumented labor remains widespread.

Among those seeking legal status is Abdelmoujoud Erra, a 27-year-old Moroccan migrant who has spent seven years in Spain working irregular jobs in the greenhouse-dominated province of Almería. He said legal documentation would provide access to formal employment, better wages and greater stability after years of living in informal settlements and relying on day labor.

Almería, home to more than 30,000 hectares of intensive greenhouse cultivation, is the European Union’s largest winter supplier of vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers. The sector exports produce worth around 3 billion euros annually and employs roughly 80,000 workers, according to unions and local authorities.

Industry representatives and labor groups say the regularization program could help address persistent labor shortages while bringing greater stability to a workforce that includes large numbers of undocumented migrants.

Andrés Góngora, coordinator of farmers’ union COAG, said the measure could strengthen workforce availability and support agricultural production by allowing employers to hire workers through formal channels. He added that a larger and more secure labor pool could encourage cultivation of more labor-intensive crops and improve social integration.

Humanitarian organizations have long raised concerns about living and working conditions in the region. Charities estimate that around 10,000 migrants reside in substandard settlements around Almería and that a significant share of agricultural laborers lack legal documentation.

The initiative has become a flashpoint in Spanish politics. The opposition People’s Party argues that large-scale regularization could place additional pressure on public services, while the far-right Vox party has accused the government of using migration to reshape the country’s demographic makeup.

Spain’s population has expanded in recent years, largely driven by immigration. According to estimates from think tank Funcas, approximately 840,000 undocumented migrants currently participate in the labor force.

For many workers, the policy represents a chance to secure legal employment and improve living conditions. Michael Aymaga, a 35-year-old migrant from Ghana living in a settlement near Nijar with limited access to utilities, said obtaining legal status would allow him to contribute more fully to Spanish society and pursue long-term opportunities.

Iraq first submitted its request to join the bank in 2018, and its shareholder status enables it to apply to become a recipient economy, which would unlock EBRD finance and policy support.

“When the time comes, we are looking forward to starting work in Iraq, applying our expertise to developing its economy,” EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said in a statement.

Renaud-Basso told Reuters that Senegal and Ghana had submitted applications to join the bank in the latest sign of its push into sub-Saharan Africa.

She said those applications would be sent to the EBRD board of governors for approval. The lender said last month that it had approved applications from Benin and Ivory Coast.

The EBRD was set up 32 years ago to invest in the ex-communist economies of eastern Europe, and currently operates in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and central Asia.

On Wednesday, the bank took the first steps to enable a 4-billion-euro increase to its current share capital of 30 billion euros, aimed mainly at enabling further support for Ukraine. If approved by the bank’s governors, it would mark the third share capital increase in its history.

Ghana and its official creditors now quickly need to agree a debt restructuring plan to get board approval and receive the money, the IMF said in a statement on Friday.

Finance Minister Ken-Ofori Atta said the government aimed to present a proposed plan to official creditors next week.

“I believe we are doing well with regards to negotiations,” he told a press conference in the capital Accra.

Prices of Ghana’s international dollar bonds , , rose up to 1.1 cents on the dollar on Friday. They have been rising gradually since March on hopes a restructuring deal can be achieved, although they had suffered a minor relapse this week due to a widespread selloff in global debt markets.

The West African country asked the IMF for financial support last year as it grappled with its worst economic crisis in a generation brought on by spiralling public debt.

The three-year extended credit facility is contingent on domestic and external debt restructuring, spending cuts and other fiscal adjustments. Ghana received a first $600 million tranche of the loan in May.

Ghana’s official creditors formed a committee in May co-chaired by China and France for debt restructurings talks. They were sent a “working proposal” for debt restructuring in June, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The gold, oil and cocoa producer aims to cut around $10.5 billion in interest payments on its external debt over the next three years to implement the IMF loan deal.

The Fund noted on Friday that growth had been more resilient than initial expectations, with declining inflation, a more stable exchange rate and better fiscal and external positions.

Ghana is on track to lower the fiscal primary deficit on a commitment basis by about 4 percentage points of GDP in 2023, it said, adding that spending had remained within programme limits.

At the end of 2022, its debts to countries including China and members of the Paris Club of creditor nations were $5.4 billion of the $20 billion external debt due to be restructured, according to a government presentation to investors. The total external debt stock was about $30 billion.

Riyadh – Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia H.E. Dr Ausaaf Saeed praised India’s old friendship with Ghana, while bidding farewell to Ghanaian ambassador H.E. Tahir Bimbali Damba on Thursday at a high-profile virtual event hosted by Saudi Arabia’s leading business entity Nawazinda Group (NTT) in association with World Business Group.

While addressing the guests and the attendees of the event, the Indian envoy described Ghana as a “beautiful country” that he visited twice, when he was serving as the Director General in External Affairs Ministry of India, he was responsible to look after the 25 western and central African countries between 2008-2010.

“Suffice to say that India-Ghana relations have traditionally been very warm and friendly. The strong foundations of our bilateral relations actually goes to the first Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah PC and also the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru,” H.E. Saeed said. “Both these great leaders were very close friends. Our relations go back to that period. And the embassy of Ghana is perhaps one of the earliest embassies to have opened in India”.

Further, the Indian envoy highlighted several innovative and novel initiatives taken by the Republic of India in the African continent. One of the major initiatives taken in 2004 was TEAM-9 that stands for Techno-Economic Approach for Africa-India Movement, which not only aimed at economical engagement but also at regional development. Ghana was the first country to be included in the list along with eight other African nations which included Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal.

H.E. Saeed spoke about his visit to the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence of Information Technology (AITI-KACE), which was established in 2003, through a partnership between government of Ghana and the government of India. It has a world-class research facility, and it also hosts West Africa’s first supercomputer.

While speaking about the Ghanaian envoy H.E. Damba, the Indian envoy said that, “personally whenever I have interacted with ambassador Sheikh Damba, he has been very soft, silent gentleman, very learned, very quiet sometimes, but of course it’s a very learning inspiration to meet him and always interact with him”.

Vice President of the WBG Engineer Saeeduddin said that, “H.E. Damba has ensured that the energy, agricultural, educational, transport and health sectors of the Kingdom will always have a role to play in similar Governmental sectors in Ghana”.

“Ghana is a peaceful and stable country with stable economy, the highly reputable ambassador also used his office to encourage Saudi investors to take advantage of the attractive incentives and to invest in Ghana”, he added. “The ambassador has been a long time friend with us and our organizing team, and Nawazinda Group of companies”.

The Ghanaian envoy expressed his joy and his cherishing experience about his cordial relationship, he has had with the Indian community in Saudi Arabia during his tenure.

H.E. Damba said that, “As I am going back to Ghana. I am giving you an assurance that I will be there to save the interest of businessmen from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and India respectively”.

“Don’t hesitate anytime you need my services. I will be there as your ambassador to Ghana”, he added. “If you have any investment you feel, you can use that to assist the people of Ghana. I will arrange your visit to Ghana within two weeks”.

Among the dignitaries who attended the virtual event were—Deputy Head of Mission of Bulgaria to Saudi Arabia H.E. Vladimir Dorovski, Ambassador of Benin Dahomey to Saudi Arabia H.E. Moutairou Fadilou, Chairman of the Mojel Group of Companies Mr. Ibrahim Al-Mojel, President of Al Karun INC, USA Mr. Anil Shrivastava, Director of Advance Electronic Systems International (AESI) Mr. Amir Qayyuum, Founder and M.D. of Zawaya Art and Design Ms. Nadia Ahmad Ouaamou, President of Hesham Consultancy Mr. Hesham al-Warraq, Security Specialist and Senior Advisor of Phronesis India Consultancy Brigadier Ram Chhillar, Vice President of Cyber NTT India Mr. Ram Chanden, Director of Cyber NTT Canada Engineer Chentil Kumar, Managing Director of Smart Media Dr. Sayeed Mohiuddin, and Managing Director of ADEPT Consultancy Mr. Junaid Abdulmalik.

Prominent Indian entrepreneur and director of World Business Group (WBG) Dr. Ashraf Ali, was the key coordinator of the event, along with his counterpart Ms. Pooja Thakur. Dr. Ashraf heads a number of projects in India and Middle-east.

Nawazinda Group under its CEO Engineer Mohammed Shakeel Khan provides a range of services in telecommunications, IT, software, transportation, civil and electrical engineering, with its branches spread all over India, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United States of America.