Lifting of lockdown: Govt gambling with lives of Ghanaians – Nana Yaw Akwada

The Executive Director of the Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada has expressed dissatisfaction about the government’s lift of the lockdown directive saying that they are gambling with the lives of Ghanaians.

According to Mr. Akwada, the pre-mature lift of the lockdown by the president, Nana Akufo-Addo in his address to the nation on Sunday, April 19, 2020 will put many Ghanaian lives at risk of the virus.

“We followed the update of the president and I do not agree with the president’s decision to lift the lockdown. And, excuse me to say I think the executives are gambling with the matter at stake, and with our lives. We all have to reposition and advice ourselves,” he said.

Mr. Akwada added that the data available on the virus should rather encourage the government to extend the lockdown period.

“The government ordered the three-week lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. That is the essence of going into a lockdown. The confirmed cases of the virus has evidently increased now, so a lift on the lockdown should be out of the equation. Before the lockdown, the confirmed cases of the virus were in three regions; Greater Accra, Ashanti and Central, now it is in ten regions. The data available does not show we have controlled the spread,” he stated.

He maintained that other countries that are still in lockdown also have citizens who are facing extreme hardships since economic activities are put to a halt.

“The truth is, many people have endured extreme hardship because of the lockdown. Ghana is not the only country to lockdown,” he said.

Mr. Akwada further advised the government to help people with extremely poor conditions by giving them their fair share of the money given to the country by the International Monetary Fund.

“Every lockdown country provide for their citizens. The money IMF has given the country can be used to cater for these people,” he concluded.