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The clarion call by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the Akufo-Addo government to include free electricity in the social intervention program in the advent of the novel coronavirus in the country has been debunked by former Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Koku Anyidoho.

Touching on the measures announced by President Akufo-Addo in the wake of the partial lockdown to fight the spread of COVID-19, especially absorbing three months water bills of Ghanaians, which received plaudits from several quarters, and the NDC MP for Juaboso Constituency, Hon. Akandoh described it as the “cheapest” social intervention.

According to him, even though the free water supply forms part of many suggestions made by former President John Mahama and the Minority in Parliament, the current administration deliberately ignored other social interventions such as the free electricity supply, and the talk tax.

But commenting on the free water, the CEO of Atta Mills Institute argued that Ghanaians can survive for many years without electricity in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak and so providing free water for three months will go a long way to sustain the citizens as water is life.

“...that is why the government is saying that at least when it comes to water it should be free, because water is life. As for that one, at least we can make water available as much as we can; so we are making water available because our forefathers, as at the time that there was no electricity, didn’t they survive? They survived because water was available; there was water before electricity”, he defended the government.

He stressed that even though electricity provides convenience, water is for life and it is about survival as people can live for a century without electricity but a week without will be disastrous and can lead to death.

“Electricity is just for convenience and water is for life and for survival. I can live without electricity for 100 years but if there is no water for one week, I am a goner. So, it is in terms of prioritising. In this crisis moment, the government is prioritising the availability of water because water is life. I am speaking as a nationalist, as a Ghanaian on this matter of COVID-19 and I am not speaking as a politician”, he argued.

He, however, cleared the air that he is still in active politics except that as a politician he knows where to cut the line of politics and address issues of national interest as no political party will be in existence if the country dies of COVID-19.

“It is not that I have stopped being a politician; I have not stopped and I won’t stop but it comes to a point where you cut the line of politics, deal with the nation because if Ghana dies, there will be no political parties in existence”, he opined.