Ghanaian Times: Let’s get tough at our land borders

As COVID-19 spreads around the world, many countries are adopting different measures in order to contain the virus.

From a total lockdown to the closure of land, sea and airports and aggressive quarantine of patients across the world, countries are racing against time to contain the deadly virus.

The tough decisions taken by some countries appear to be yielding results but unfortunately many countries are also facing challenges with measures they have instituted to combat the coronavirus.

One such measure that appears to be posing serious problems is the porous land borders of African countries.

In order to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo last Sunday directed the closure of the country’s borders including all land borders of the country.

Unfortunately however, reports we are getting indicate that both human and vehicular movements are creating problems for security agencies manning the border posts.

A report received from Kpetoe border post for instance, shows that security personnel in charge of the border are facing a herculean task in controlling okada riders who use unapproved routes in the area.

The Ghanaian Times also received similar reports from other parts of the country which is worrying because the activities of the okada riders in and out of the country pose a great danger to other citizens.

COVID-19 poses a particularly dire threat to all countries and if efforts being made to contain it are disregarded, then it would be difficult to win the fight against the virus.

It is important for the security agencies to mount surveillance on okada and other users of unapproved routes in order to stop them from breaking the rules.

The current battle against the pandemic needs the cooperation of all citizens and anyone who is caught flouting the measures instituted to contain the virus must be punished severely.

Because, not only are they putting their lives in danger but they risk spreading the disease and that would be disastrous for the country that is trying hard to prevent the spread of the disease.

We urge the security services particularly the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to draw from the significant experience of other countries in controlling their borders to prevent their citizens from flouting the measures instituted against the disease.

We also call on the government to adopt tough measures and to severely deal with members of the public who would take the law into their own hands and behave in a manner that puts the rest of the people in danger.