News
COV1D collapses my business… blind man laments
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected several people badly in so many ways but that of Seth Kwame Ajimi a.k.a Skanjimi seems more terrible as he has to struggle as a blind person and a drinking spot owner.
Unless there is a divine intervention, the 59-year-old man would continue to wallow in financial difficulty. In an interview with The Spectator, he described his situation in this COVID-19 era as “terrible.”
Mr. Ajimi who became blind 11 years ago as a result of a domestic accident said that going through life as a physically challenged had been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
He explained that before now, “blind people could conveniently touch surfaces and people to help them with their movement but the outbreak of the deadly disease has put them at the disadvantage.”
“Now we are told to avoid touching surfaces and also practise social distancing so you understand me when I say life has not been easy,” he explained.
The Operator of the Skanjimi Spot located in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality of the Greater Accra Region said that his business which entailed the sale of food and drinks was affected when a railway line was constructed around his spot but he was managing to survive until March last year when there was the COVID-19 and subsequently a lockdown and this had put him in an awkward situation.
“That was when I fell flat on the floor. I had to send some of my workers away and run the place with the help of a boy who helps me with my movement and one staff,” he lamented.
He said persons who operated bars, spots, pubs among other related businesses had been ordered not to run full time but nothing or little had been done to support people like him.
The visually impaired said that people hardly patronised his spot these days yet he had to “squeeze” to pay his bills and provide hygiene materials to keep his place safe from the coronavirus in order to protect himself and his customers.
He said that he had been trying to put up a chamber and hall building when business was good but it had stalled because he could hardly raise money from his business to continue the project.
Mr. Ajimi said he feared his current landlord may be compelled to eject him for his inability to promptly pay rent and called on the public to support him in both cash and kind to survive, hoping to come out of the wood since “the downfall of a man is not the end of his life”.
From Dzifa Tetteh, Kpone
National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Executive Committee member and Volta River Authority (VRA) Board Member, Wonder Victor Kutor, has described calls for the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as premature and unjustified.
He argued that there was no evidence to establish that the minister had committed any wrongdoing to warrant such demands.
Speaking on Joy News in Accra on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Mr Kutor questioned what had changed to justify the growing calls for the minister to step down.
He recalled that the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had earlier indicated that the opposition was not accusing Mr Ablakwa of any wrongdoing.
Mr Kutor, therefore, challenged those demanding the minister’s resignation to provide fresh evidence to support their position.
“The call for the Minister to resign is premature, it is untenable. There is no evidence. I mean, what has he done wrong?” he questioned.
He added that documents, including boarding passes, airline receipts and flight manifests relating to the minister’s return journey, had been provided.
Mr Kutor expressed concern that the calls for Mr Ablakwa’s resignation could discourage young politicians from speaking out against corruption and advocating transparency.
According to him, politicians should not be targeted or maligned for demanding accountability, warning that such treatment could create the impression that speaking against corruption could later become a liability when one is appointed to public office.
He maintained that calling for accountability and transparency should not be used as grounds to target public officials without evidence of wrongdoing.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana will host the Africa Festival of Arts, Culture and Creatives (AFESTAC) 2026 alongside Industrial Skills Week Africa (ISWA) 2026 in Accra from December 9 to 12, 2026.
On the back of these programmes, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called on corporate Ghana, the media and the general public to support the initiative through partnerships, sponsorships and active participation.
The events, supported by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), will bring together stakeholders to celebrate Africa’s rich cultural heritage, strengthen the creative economy, promote industrial skills development and create employment opportunities for young people.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
