Akufo-Addo government continues to hide Coronavirus Pandemic Information

Hiding the truth is a dangerous game when it comes to health matters. Too many people have died in the name of secrecy. Hiding the truth is the same as lying and propaganda.

The Akufo-Addo government is suppressing information about the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The censorship will only exacerbate the outbreak. If government allows journalists and medical personnel to freely speak and investigate, the citizens will be better informed and will also improve our preparation. Government is hiding information about the number of people who have contracted the virus for political reasons. Government should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with local and international organisations.

While the media and medical personnel in other countries have been busy with the virus breakouts, our government is furthering it cover up and propaganda game. People are upset about how the government is still concealing the seriousness of the pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to grow and that is the scary truth. We are still suffering the severe consequences of earlier mismanagement and government’s show of indifference. Delayed disclosure of cases and attempts to hide this important information from the public was undoubtedly the first error. Such information should not be obfuscated with vagueness, but instead disclosed with complete openness and transparency.

What we’ve witnessed the last three days is a testament to the importance of transparency. Disclosure of key information, such as the number of infections, how the disease is transmitted, our preparation were senselessly delayed or vague. The President addressed the nation as if was not aware that Ghana had recorded cases. Information disclosure at the beginning was not transparent and continue to be the trend. The importance of openness and transparency at this point cannot be overrated. Early and accurate disclosure allow for early and effective prevention and control and will give us the best result with the least cost. Information disclosure should be truthful, accurate, complete, and timely, with no arbitrary omissions. The President lied to us that no coronavirus case has been recorded in Ghana when he had been briefed about the two cases. Why was he shying away from reality and why is he playing political game with this devil called coronavirus. The devil is in the detail , and if the whole process is not transparent as we seeing, the devil will inevitably have a hiding place.

Critically, the quality and accuracy of information disclosure reflect the degree to which President Akufo-Addo and his officials respect citizens right to know. The truth is that, the President has no respect for the people he is leading and sees them as people who cannot reason on their own or, do critical assessment of what he puts out. So, the President will shamelessly, announce a $100 million package and thinks Ghanaians will just accept his tricks and walk away. We are being fed with different information. The director of medical services, the health minister, the information minister and the President himself are feeding us with different reports. The common defense is that the government must consider complicated factors such as social stability and economic development, and when considering prevention, control measures and information disclosure, must balance between excessive, insufficient control and the panic in the system. It is everyone’s best interest to be transparent. Without transparency, it is impossible to effectively guard against the virus. Successful virus prevention and control is inherently aligned with principle of transparency.

Conspiracy is a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful and this is exactly what the President and his people are doing. They are acting together in unison or agreement and in secret towards a deceitful or illegal purpose. Our emergency response system and infectious disease prevention and control processes are not consistent. The emergency numbers put out for citizens to call for support are not working but our President tells us has made $100 million available to combat the pandemic. Government officials are rejoicing over their ersonal gains they going to make from the allocated $100 million. The President is more concerned about his political future than the deadly consequences his lies and deceitful actions would bring upon the people he is leading.

Transparency does not cause panic, the only source of panic is the absence of truth. The call for transparency is not made in hindsight, but has practical significance for combating the pandemic in coming days and weeks. It provides a basic reference for how to strengthen virus control mechanism, improve the rule of law, and change the principles of supervision and prevention once the pandemic is stabilized.

The Director of Health Services and his team must put off their political hats and deal with the problem purely from medical perspective. The lies and misinformation are causing unnecessary panic and uneasiness in the system. We need full disclosure on all cases and decisions taken by the administration to combat the pandemic and disbursement and use of the $100 million. I listened to the Director of Health Services on UTV and was very sad. His immediate interest and focus is on the $100 million.

Source: Ohenenana Obonti Krow