Founder and Leader of the Alive Chapel International, Bishop Elisha Salifu Amoako has advised the Akufo-Addo government against those medical professionals calling for a lockdown due to recent hike of Covid-19 infection rate.
Pleading with President Nana Akufo-Addo, Bishop Salifu Amoako strongly believes that locking down the country will spell doom for the country as the economy will hugely be affected eventually.
In an interview with the media in a press conference, the leader of Alive Chapel International feared that the economy will crush should the President listen to the call of those medical officers to lock down the country.
Acknowledging that President Akufo-Addo being a listening president, Bishop Salifu Amoako pleaded with him to consider the effect the lockdown might have on the economy and the wellbeing of Ghanaians in general, taking a clue from the partial lockdown the nation experienced at the early stage of the pandemic last year.
“I will plead with the President as I know him to be a listening President and that is the reason why I like him. He is someone who does not rush into taking a decision because he is matured. He should not listen to those who are calling for a lockdown due to the rising of Covid-19 infection rate; if he does not take care and locks down the country, we will be in trouble”, he pleaded.
He added that locking down country as proposed by some group of people will at the end of the day go against the promise of God to better the country’s economy this year; asserting that the government alone cannot feed all the 30 million people.
“We had a partial lockdown and we saw what happened in the country. We are 30 million people and government alone cannot feed all the 30 million people. This year, God has promised us that the economy of the country will boost and so we should not do anything that will destroy the economy”, he noted.
“If the government listens to the call of some of the medical professionals to lockdown the country, economically the country will shrink because everybody will sit at home and no goods and services will take place and the people will become a burden and the same people will complain”, he stressed.
He indicated that Ghanaians cannot even stay at home for only three days without going about their duties to provide their daily bread; thus, the 30 million Ghanaians cannot cope the situation and the government will lose more revenue.
“Can you imagine 30 million Ghanaians staying at home for only three days? Do you know the revenue that Ghana government will lose for the three days of no business activities? If we stay at home for only three days, Ghana government will lose more revenue than anything”, he wondered.
He was of the opinion that the call for lockdown will not help the country and the government itself, reminding that America with the record of over 30,000 deaths to Covid-19 being more than the total recorded cases and death rate in the country has not lockdown the country again, knowing the effect of lockdown on America.
"My advice to the government is that the lockdown will not help us because even America that has recorded over 30,000 deaths to Covid-19 which is more than our total recorded cases and the number of death cases in the country has not locked down the country. This is because they have realised that the lockdown destroyed their economy. They had system in place to buy food and other items online but in this country, how many people even know how to operate the internet?", he stated.
He cautioned that the same people will turn the heat on the government if President Akufo-Addo heed to the call of the medical officers to lock down the country; reiterating that Ghanaians will even rise up to break the laws the more as they may have to go find something to eat.
“Do you know that 75 per cent of Ghanaian population are very poor? So, if you tell the poor person to for a lockdown and not go to the market to sell their food stuffs and engage in petty trading to get some income and even stay at home for only two days, at the end of the day the same people will come out and complain; they will bombard the government”, he pinpointed.
He, however, implored the Akufo-Addo government to enforce the strength of the safety protocols in place for everyone to adhere to them as the wearing of nose mask, regular washing of hands under running water and the practice of social distancing should be enforced.
“The doctors who are shouting and calling for a lockdown should check the percentage of the infection rate and the death rate relating to Covid-19 and compare these records to that of London and other parts of the world and they will know that we are better off than them and yet they have not lock down their countries”, he stated.
“We should not crush the economy; let things go smoothly by allowing the people go for their daily bread but ensure strict adherence to the Covid-19 preventive etiquettes through the police. The only thing they can do is to enforce the safety protocols”, he advised.
Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com
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