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We’ll ease COVID-19 restrictions … if pandemic associated deaths reduce – President
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appealed to the public to remain disciplined and adhere to the measures introduced by the government to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“The most effective method for us to deal with this virus is our own self discipline. The protocols of hygiene, social distancing, not shaking hands, protecting our selves, wearing the face masks…these are the short, medium and long term solution to the proliferation of the virus,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said this when the chiefs and queen mothers of the Anlo Traditional Area in the Volta Region called on him at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.
He stressed the need to get the message of self discipline to everybody in the country so that everyone will be aware of the measures they need to take to protect themselves from the virus.
“If we adhere to these protocols, the hygiene, the social distancing, the washing of the hands and sanitisers, I’m confident that we will overcome this virus. But we need to work at it, and work at it together,” he said.
He entreated the public to always be on the guard and protect themselves and everyone around them against the outbreak of the pandemic.
President Akufo-Addo noted that the government will consider easing the restrictions imposed if the rate of deaths associated with the pandemic reduces.
“Fortunately for us, the number of people who have died from the disease is very small. Each death is unfortunate but nevertheless, the numbers in Ghana are small,” he said noting that the number of people in serious conditions is also very small.
“If it continues that way, then it gives us the opportunity to be looking at how we can ease many of the restrictions that is making life very difficult,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo pledged to construct a hospital and a police station for the people of Anlo and expressed gratitude to them for supporting his administration, especially in this COVID-19 crisis.
The leader of the delegation from Kome and Shime Traditional Area of Anlo, Togbui Kumasah Agbotadua, thanked the President for the recognition given to the people of the area with the creation of the Anloga District Assembly.
“We also thank you for giving us an indefatigable and hardworking son of ours as the Anloga District Chief Executive. Mr President we thank you very much,” he said.
He said the people of the area have faith in the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.
BY YAW KYEI
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
