Lockdown directive poorly planned by govt – John Dramani Mahama

Former president, John Dramani Mahama has stated that the government had not adequately prepared towards the country’s three-week lockdown and as a result, the directive did not accomplish the desired results.

A three-week lockdown was declared by the president during an address to the nation on Monday, March 30 under the imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012) to combat the Coronavirus pandemic nationwide.

According to Mahama, the lockdown directive by the government was anything but successful as they were not adhered to by most Ghanaians.

“The current scenes in our markets and public places suggests that the president’s exaltation of self-discipline has largely not been heeded to … government’s humanitarian intervention to alleviate the unintended but predictable consequences of the lockdown have been an abysmal failure,” he said.

He also added that the sharing of food to the vulnerable and poor citizens during the lockdown was not well managed by the government and that has further complicated the country’s effort in containing the spread of the virus.

“The distribution of food was chaotic and disorderly, and in some cases partisan. It flouted all protocols of social distancing and prevention of the spread of the virus. Definitely, no careful planning went into the implementation of this initiative, as is the characteristic of this current administration,” he said.

He, however, advised Ghanaians to strictly adhere to the directives; like wearing face masks to contain the spread of the virus, considering the fact that the lockdown has been lifted.

“Now that the lockdown has been lifted and the virus is mobile again, we must heed to the call to wear face masks or face coverings in all public places,” he concluded.