President Akufo-Addo says government is not considering a lockdown currently because of the implications it will have on many people.
According to him, although the country is recording more coronavirus cases, government is still monitoring the situation and will implement decisions that are in the best interest of all.
“Now people are talking about a lockdown in Ghana and this and that but we should know that the majority of people will be affected. The ordinary Ghanaians are the ones that will be most affected and it is important for us who have to take this decision to take into account, their circumstances and conditions.
“If you lockdown Accra, what are the consequences? If we lockdown the country, what are the consequences? A responsible government is required to look at all this before decisions are made and that is the exercise on which we are currently engaged.
“I am hopeful that sooner than later, we will come to an agreement within government on the way forward and the Ghanaian people will be informed. But I want to assure you that the matters you have put on the table are matters we are actively deliberating on,” President Akufo-Addo said.
Addressing leaders of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) led by General Secretary Dr. Yaw Baah at the Jubilee House, President Akufo-Addo said he was optimistic current measures put in place by government will help curb further spread of the virus.
“I have indicated to the country that the main objectives of our policies and responses which includes limiting importation. We are trying to take control of the spread of the virus by making provision to strengthen our capacity to care for those who are sick, limiting as much as possible the impact on our social and economic lives and then also, trying to find a way to use this crisis as an opportunity to strengthen our nation.
“We have seen how dependent we are on foreign import for our medicines and that shouldn’t be the case. But now we are finding the capacity to produce things for ourselves,” he concluded.
Since Ghana recorded 68 Covid-19 cases, there has been pressure on government to announce a lockdown with immediate effect.
The Ghana Medical Association and the Trade Union Congress say such a directive will help contain the spread of the virus and prevent fear and panic.
This has led to a heated debate on social media, with another school of thought arguing that a lockdown will kill more people than the virus since appropriate measures and structures have not been put in place.
But with the country recording 132 cases, the Trade Union Congress is still urging President Akufo-Addo to consider a more aggressive approach to the fight against the coronavirus.
Source: Myjoyonline
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I support @Don Biko 1000%. Our leaders have failed us big time. The money they are borrowing they will die and leave it for us and our children to pay oooo. It is people like @kojo who sugar coat the truth and the society is like this because of @kojo and his fellow cowards! More fire @Donk Biko
@Don Biko, what do you mean when you state this : "Our finance minister with that his stuuupid leather back and sunday-wear is running to IMF to borrow money to tackle covid-19 simply because we heard IMF is making available a facility to aid countries!" Can't you make your point without insulting people. You were not brought up properly. Behave yourself.
IF WE LOCKDOWN THERE ARE MANY CONSEQUENCIES AND THIS NEED GOOD PLANNING. THERE ARE SERIOUS ECONOMIC,SOCIAL AND SECURITY IMPLICATIONS. THERE ARE THOSE WHO DAILY LIVLIHOOD WOULD BE SEVERELY IMPACTED BECAUSE THEY LIVE FROM HAND TO MOUNTH. FOOD STUFFS WILL ROTTEN IN THE HINTERLANDS. LACK OF FOOD ON THE TABLE FOR MANY POOR FAMILIES COULD LEAD TO AGITATIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS, ***barred word*** OF MARKETS AND HOMES OF THE PERCIEVED AFLUENT ETC
Our President is a good Leader given our situation the lockdown as other countries have observed would not work well for us at this point in time. In the Ghanaian context in terms of the prevailing infrastructure deficit, like poor public toilets and lack of same in many homes, that alone, could create a catastrophic situation, and not help much. Kudos Mr. President.
Of course ,you won't lock down not because it is necessarily a bad idea but because you are ill-prepared for such a necessary step in times like this. Let me tell you, Mr President what a responsible government should have done: A responsible government should have been committed to the fight against corruption because that is where the bulk of Ghana's money is lost! We loose over USD9billion annually to corruption and that explains why our debt is hovering around USD217billion yet we have nothing to show for it in terms of development! We simply borrow and waste through corrupt practices by friends, families and cronies in business who glaringly steel and yet are set free in kangaroo courts under the control of same criminarl cartels! For a country of only 31 million people ,USD1billion would have been enough to cater for the vulnerable during these times but what do we see? Our finance minister with that his stuuupid leather back and sunday-wear is running to IMF to borrow money to tackle covid-19 simply because we heard IMF is making available a facility to aid countries! What do we do with all the monies we collect in taxes and royalties from our numerous natural resources? What about the colossal sums of money we borrow as loans? We spent an outrageous amount of USD8million just to print new ghc200 and ghc100 new notes that nobody really needs just because elections are around and you have to steel money to fund that. They borrow to start projects and after they have obtained their 10% they abandon the entire project to rot and the cycle only continues when power changes hands! What is wrong with these two parties:NPP/NDC? The majority of Ghanaians would indeed will be affected by any lock down can't even afford the most basic of human needs! Even those working salaries are so bad that saving becomes difficult! Unemployment is at a crises point yet what they focus their entire energy on is trying to winor steel the next elections at all costs! In Kenya, an African country like ours, the president is leading by taking an 80% salary cut together with cabinet and MPs to fund the cost of the fight against the virus. In Ghana what do we see: asking Ghanaians to fast and pray, as if we don't do that already! Some people have been fasting the rest of their lives involuntarily because you can hardly describe what they eat as food! Ghanaians deserve better and Ghanaians must rise up and change these two parties if they really want change!
Great leadership Mr. President, you are on the right path. Locking down now is not the issue, the critical measures can't u have put in place will differently sustain this epidemic. Countries like U.K, U.S.A and others couldn't take this bold steps at their airports and this has resulted in worse consequences. KUDOS NANA.. GOD IS WITH U !!!!
This is good leadership. Everything has to be put in context. Most people are looking at the picture through only one lens, but the government is considering the whole ecosystem. You don't simply do things because others are doing them. The US has locked down some places and they are giving everyone there 1,200 dollars per month. We sit in Ghana here and also say lockdown without even suggesting how we can keep the economy going. Meanwhile, we have a largely informal economy with most people living hand to mouth on a day by day basis. Lock down and such people will be starving within a week. You might even end up killing more people than the virus would have done.