Legal practitioner Amanda Clinton has commended the government's response to the xenophobic attacks on Ghanaians in South Africa but insisted that the government should also focus on the problems of millions of Ghanaians who voted them into power right here at home.

Speaking in an interview on Joy News on April 29, 2026, Clinton praised Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for the firmness and clarity of Ghana's diplomatic response to the crisis, drawing a comparison to how major world powers handle threats to their citizens abroad.

"I think the foreign minister has done a great job in putting forward the message that Ghanaians everywhere will be protected. It's very much what the US does; if something is happening to any of their citizens in any country, they will bring light to that," she said.

She also welcomed the government's offer to repatriate Ghanaians who wish to return home, describing it as a strong and positive signal.

'What kind of mindset is this?' - South African activist hits back at Ablakwa, Ghanaians

However, Clinton took aim at what she described as a pattern of deflection by leadership, arguing that the same energy directed at the South Africa situation should be channelled into pressing domestic issues.

"The millions of Ghanaians who voted for you care more about you addressing our ECG problem. They care about executive gatekeeping. The OSP might not be working, so improve it or change the legislature, but address it," she said firmly.

Clinton also took a swipe at what she considered an ill-timed and trivial presidential comment made amid serious national conversations, saying it reflected a troubling tendency to sidestep weightier matters.

"The president said something like 'don't eat banku after 7 pm' or something like that, and I was just like, what? Everybody is talking about something that really matters, and you're doing this?" she said.

On the South Africa situation specifically, she argued that while the government's intervention was appreciated, the issue did not warrant the level of attention it received at the expense of domestic concerns.

"This South Africa thing could have just been dealt with in a 10-minute briefing. Don't make such a big deal about it when there are millions of Ghanaians right here waiting for you to address their problems," she said.

She also dismissed comments made by a South Africa-based activist identified as Queen V, who suggested Ghana's foreign minister should instead focus on creating opportunities at home so Ghanaians would not need to seek work abroad.

Amanda described the remarks as a "silly" and misguided attempt to deflect from the real issue of xenophobic violence she has been inciting.

ID/BAI

Meanwhile, watch the latest episode of TGMA countdown with Charterhouse's Robert Klah below: