Coronavirus: Ghana must declare state of emergency or… OneGhana Movement

Pressure group OneGhana Movement is asking the Government of Ghana to take certain seven ‘decisive’ actions to secure the health of the people against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Among the actions the group expects government to take is a declaration of a state of emergency for the remaining period of President Akufo-Addo’s “4-week shutdown” of universities and schools, along with inhibitions placed on varied activities. 

Again, OneGhana Movement says errant institutions engaged in public activities that tend to group people against directives by the president should be ordered to stop; Ghana’s borders closed; and all flights from foreign countries cancelled for the next 30 days except for returning Ghanaians and essential UN workers or nCOVID-19 medical support missions.

The OneGhana Movement’s recommendations are contained in a statement it issued Thursday, expressing regret that the country has “failed to ramp up its efforts to combat the disease to reflect the exigencies of the situation.”

“The OneGhana Movement especially notes that while it supports the initial interventions made by the Government upon the discovery of the cases, these interventions have been rendered lukewarm in light of the global prognosis of the pandemic and the likely impact on Africa in the coming days and weeks. This is further worsened by the defiance of the president’s order by key agencies of state such as the National Identification Authority whose actions appear to have prioritized the performance of their work over and above human life.

“The failure of Government to enforce its orders against these bodies appears to lend the tacit endorsement of the president to these entities in their open defiance. The issuance of travel advisories by countries with superior intelligence capabilities relative to the disease further suggests a dire prospect about the global trend of the disease in the near foreseeable future, and the failure of Ghana to take the needed decisive action in time may spell doom for our country.

“The lack of clarity on constitutional decisions being taken and the failure by the Government to take bold and decisive action under the emergency powers of the constitution undermines the effectiveness of existing interventions and threatens to endanger the health and lives of Ghanaians in the wake of the outbreak. On the other hand, this may have the tendency to risk unnecessary constitutional challenges, further risking distraction and unanimity in this turbulent and delicate period of our national life.”

Source: graphic.com