Government’s coronavirus food relief lacks transparency - Amnesty International

Human Rights Organization Amnesty International has criticized government for what they describe as lack of transparency in the distribution of food and other relief items in the wake of Coronavirus pandemic.

According to the group, government has to immediately revise its strategic policy of providing for the poor and the vulnerable in the lockdown zones and also allow reputable nonprofit organizations assist in targeting the essential items to persons genuinely in need of help.

The concern follows a similar claim by MP for Korle-Klottey Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings who on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, stated that the relief items in her area are being distributed on partisan lines adding that: “This is not acceptable [and] this is very sad [because] the virus does not show whether you are NDC or NPP before it infects you.”

Although government officials have denied the claims, Amnesty International believes that a more targeted and transparent approach must be adopted in order to make the distribution effective.

Country Director for the world body Robert Akoto Amoafo explained to host of Class FM’s State of the Nation Programme that: “if it is properly done and there is transparency and they allow organizations like us and other NGOs that work for human rights to observe this process and see that this is happening, it will be very easy, we will not have accusations of political lines and we would give our reports and people would see that there is transparency.”

“…for us we are very interested and we are very happy that government is taking these steps. But what we are expecting is that they make in such a way that people do not doubt the process, they open up the processes, they allow people to see that what is happening is done clearly without any hidden intentions” Robert Akoto Amoafo further explained.

Earlier, the human right activist group chided government for the demolition exercise carried out at Old Fadama in Accra and urged same to relocate the residents before continuing.