The Minority in Parliament says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must take responsibility for the increased cases of coronavirus in the country.
Leader Haruna Iddrisu said the President “took a terrible gamble with our lives when he lifted the lockdown at a time our case count was increasing”.
He was addressing journalists on Thursday, May 7, when he made these remarks.
Ghana’s Covid-19 case count has seen an exponential increase of more than 2,000 since the president lifted the partial lockdown on Monday, April 20. It is currently 3,091.
The decision came as many wanted the lockdown to be extended to other cities since it was only in Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi.
But President Akufo-Addo later explained that the decision to lift the lockdown was based on science and data received from health professionals.
This the Minority disagrees with.
“Evidently, President Akufo-Addo seems more interested in his re-election than in the safety and life of Ghanaians. That fact keeps unfolding,” the Member of Parliament for Tamale South Constituency said.
‘Signs & Wonders’
He maintained that the president has relegated science to the background and “now appears to be relying on Signs and Wonders forgetting the old adage that Heaven helps those who help themselves”.
The Minority Leader is convinced that that single decision by President Akufo-Addo “has led to the situation where since the removal of the lockdown, confirmed cases have more than doubled and deaths have more than tripled”.
He noted that the president was torn between the economy and politics and health, indicating that he rejected advice and suggestions by health experts and rather took a decision based on political expediency.
No wonder the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), he claims, has made new suggestions.
“The Minority has duly taken note that following the President’s reversal of the partial lockdown and our worsening case count, the reputable Ghana Medical Association has publicly called for a different approach in containing and limiting the spread of COVID-19. We are in full support of this call. President Akufo-Addo should be led by sound epidemiological data and not political calculations.”
The Minority Leader urged government not toy with the idea of easing any more of the restrictions as “Ghana’s case count is now amongst the most infected countries in Africa”.
“This has frightening prospects which demands an urgent change in strategy. As the science dictates, this cannot be the time for further easing of restrictions. We expect a more proactive policy response. We should be fighting the virus ahead of it and not from behind.”
Source: 3news.com|Ghana