The Communications Director of the opposition National Democratic
Congress (NDC) Sammi Gyamfi says the decision by President Akufo-Addo to
lift the lockdown on Accra and Kumasi despite the spike in coronavirus
cases in Ghana is political.
According to him, the move is intended to allow the electoral commission compile a new voters register for the December polls.
“It is clearly a politically-motivated decision, calculated to allow
the EC the space to undertake its entrenched and illogical determination
to compile a new voters’ register for the 2020 general elections and
nothing more.
“Either than that, why will President Akufo-Addo impose a partial
lockdown with the objective of halting the spread of the COVID-19
pandemic in the country, at a time we had only recorded 137 cases across
just four (4) regions of the country and with 5 deaths, but turn around
to lift the partial lockdown, at a time our positive case count has
galloped to 1,042, across ten (10) regions and with nine (9) deaths?, ”
he wrote in a statement on Facebook.
The statement added: ” Countries with far lower cases have not lifted
or relaxed their lockdown restrictions. Yet, we who are currently the
country with the highest COVID-19 cases in West Africa, have against
expert advice, lifted our partial lockdown. Doesn’t this defy science
and commonsense?
“President Akufo-Addo’s decision to lift the lockdown at this crucial
time, is a reckless political gamble that portends great danger for
this nation. Ghanaians must never forgive him if this unimaginable
decision exacerbates our COVID-19 situation. The blame for any fatality
that is occasioned by this reckless decision must lie squarely with the
President.
“What the President has essentially done, is to place political
expediency ahead of Public safety. And what that shows, is that human
lives don’t matter to President Akufo-Addo”.
Meanwhile, Security Analyst Adib Saani has warned that the decision
by the President to lift the partial lockdown of Accra and Kumasi is a
dangerous gamble that could backfire.
President Akufo-Addo on Sunday announced the lifting the 3-week
lockdown on Greater Accra and Kumasi, with effect from Monday, April 20.
Addressing the Nation on Sunday, April 19, 2020, the President,
however, stated all other social distancing measures are still in place.
Churches, Schools both Public and Private, will still remain shut.
According to President, the decision to enforce the 3-week lockdown
was taken to give Government the opportunity to try to contain the
spread of the virus, scale-up effectively the tracing of persons who had
come into contact with infected persons, test them for the virus, and
quarantine those who tested positive and isolate them for treatment.
But in a statement, Mr Saani said the President decision could lead to peak mortality in the next few days.
“It is worth noting that, almost all world leaders including US
President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who
ignored WHO warnings, are licking their wounds today. I am not sure we
would want to get there. Besides, how effective would enforcing the
social distancing protocols be?
“I do appreciate the untold economic and social hardship this
lockdown is posing to the ordinary Ghanaian. But we are in desperate
times and desperate and sometimes draconian measures would have to be
adopted for the greater good of public health and safety,” Mr Saani who
is also the Executive Director at Jatikay Centre for Human Security and
Peace Building noted.
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