Out of 67 passengers, essentially made of kayayei etc drawn from Accra Central, enroute Oti Region in two cargo trucks, 17 of them tested positive of COVID-19. That’s roughly 25.4% of the number testing positive. This must send a signal to every right thinking Ghanaian, that there is the likelihood of a higher prevalence of the disease among sections of the population, which may require our special attention. As one out of four kayayei on transit, have tested positive, one would have expected to see a policy to test all traders and kayayei in our big markets by now.
Some of us have always expressed our dissatisfaction of government’s strategy in handling this COVID-19 pandemic. A case in question, was a much higher number of kayayei, who were similarly intercepted at Ejisu, Ashanti Region, packed in articulated trucks, without any regard for social distancing, heading to Walewale, the hometown of our Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, but were forced to return to Accra, without attracting the attention of our public health authorities for testing.
On their return, we saw the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and Vice President, making efforts to cover up their shoddy planning for the restriction of movement, without any provision for these identifiable vulnerable members of our society. There was no welfare arrangements announced until nearly a week into the lockdown. The Vice President allegedly doled out GHC500 to each of the returnees, without ensuring that they were tested for the COVID-19. These were his kith and kin, so I would have expected him to go the extra mile to ensure their well-being. That was not the case.
The visuals we saw of their travelling conditions, would alarm the average person to have ensured that they were tested before being allowed to return to the markets. Behold, that did not occur to His Excellency the Vice President. Neither did that cross the mind of the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection nor any of her two Deputy Ministers. Social welfare thrown to the dogs.
Going back to the Oti case; if 25.4% of a sample of kayayei, from the same Makola and Agbogbloshie markets, intercepted on escaping the lockdown, tested positive, one would imagine how much harm the collective indescretion of the Ejisu MCE, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and indeed the Vice President have cost Ghanaians for not testing the Ejisu returnees on their arrival in Accra. To reiterate the point, 17 out of 67 of persons from the same environment were later found to be carrying the #coronavirus on their way to Oti Region.
You’d want to tie-in this with the belated order for the 10,000 servicemen and women deployed to enforce the lockdown, to go into self-isolation for mandatory testing, days after they have gone back to their families. The least said about the chaotic food distribution, the better.
From the foregoing, you don’t need to be told that our government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been largely reactive and not proactive. If we are going to be successful in mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on our economy, our overall health and safety, we would need our public officials to up the ante a few more notches. What were are seeing so far, is not good enough.
This is not the time for praise-singing and self-glorification. We could learn a lesson or two from the humility and focus of Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, as she leads her people out of the dark alleys of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: George Kwaku Yeboah writes II Contributor II ghananewsonline.com.gh
