The whole of Accra has been observing the lockdown directives announced by the president on the 28th of March, 2020.
For the first time in a long time major streets in the capital city that used to be filled with people throughout the week have gone quiet as citizens observe the lockdown whiles national security apparatus man designated checkpoints to ensure that citizens comply properly with the directives.
Related articles
In doing this, reports observed and monitored by the ‘Accra This Week’ team revealed that whiles some citizens complied to the directives, some few found themselves flouting the rules by going out when they were neither going to get essential goods like food or medicine nor providing essential services as directed. As a result some found themselves wanting as they were confronted by the security taskforce ensuring compliance of the directive.
ALSO READ: PRESIDENT TO PAY KAYAYEI’S GHC10 A DAY
Some however got away with it. A number of such people interviewed only gave the reasons of coming out too see if really there were barriers and security forces in town as was said. A resident interviewed by an Accra-based United Television said “They are talking about it but I have not seen it [referring to the military and police men deployed to enforce the restrictions] so I came to verify myself because I haven’t been outdoors since yesterday”. She further added that upon doing that, she has now verified that it is true so she was not going to come out again to sell.
There was also videos that were in circulation purporting the maltreatment of civilians by the military who were enforcing the laws. At the Ministry of Information’s Press briefing on Wednesday however, Brigadier General A.Y Nsiah who provided information on deployment and compliance by the military at the press briefing refuted these claims stating that all the videos seen were false.
” I must also emphasize that some videos have gone viral concerning brutalities being metted out by soldiers to some civilians. Let me assure my fellow Ghanaians that the soldiers that you have are well trained, they are professionals. They don’t brutalize. We have deployed close to a thousand soldiers on the field. Out of this number, we have had one incident and that incident had nothing to do with slapping. It is something that we thought is not of our standard and that we are dealing with it” he said, adding that the said soldier in that instance has been withdrawn back to the barracks where the matter will be investigated.
The week also saw the Information Ministry engaging the press to provide information from all the front-line workers and measures that have been put in place to strengthen Ghana’s fight against Coronavirus. The briefings were held on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
ALSO READ: COVID-19 REACHES UPPER-EAST REGION; COUNTRY CASES REACHES 105
Sunday’s addressed the issue of clarifying workers who are included in the category of “essential workers” expected to continue working despite the lockdown directives.
Monday’s predominantly centered on the issue of food security in relation to the issues of panic shopping/buying and rise in prices of food commodities. One key issue, the minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Afriyie Akoto had to do with the fact that the country had enough food stock which does not need the prices of food to shoot up or for citizens to do panic buying and shopping.
“The mad rush that we’ve seen in our markets for the last three days, Saturday in particular and Sunday to stock up on food and the spike in prices which everybody is complaining about is totally uncalled for. It’s totally uncalled for because thanks to Planting for Food and Jobs, this country has more than enough food to take care of the citizenry in this period” he said.
ALSO READ: COVID-19; FUEL PRICES TO GO DOWN 24% – INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY SECURITY
Friday’s press briefing saw the introduction of experts from the Ghana Psychological Association who provided update on how such “a life event” as covid-19 impacts the lives of individuals who might be affected mentally as a result. Speaking on behalf f the association, Dr. Collins Badu Agyemang encouraged the media to highlight more of the positive stories in their line of reportage. He encouraged parents to use this period to spend more time with their children, educating them; find a hobby adding that “These two weeks partial lockdown is telling us how retirement will be like. We need to find things to stay active”.
Cleaning of Accra
The ministry of sanitation together with MMDCE’s in Accra have capitalized on the lockdown of Accra to clean the capital thoroughly in a bid to make the city clean as well as prevent the perennial flooding that hits the country during the rainy season.
The work which started Friday is aimed at using the period of the lockdown to “ensure effective cleaning and cleansing of the cities in support of the fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease”. It will be done together with the Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies and members of the Environmental Service Providers Association “led by Zoomlion Ghana Limited.”
President Meets Political Parties
Friday, 3rd April, 2020 also saw president Akuffo-Addo meeting with heads of the political divide made up of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the National Democratic Party (NDP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to help assess the role political leaders can play in the fight against coronavirus as a country. The meeting took place at the Jubilee house.
