President Akufo-Addo tours voter registration centres in Accra

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Thursday, 2nd July, 2020, paid unannounced visits to five voter registration centres in the Greater Accra Region.

The tour took him to the Kanda Cluster of Schools Registration Centre in Ayawaso East; Abossey Okai Presby Registration Centre in Ablekuma Central; Ebenezer Funeral Parlour (1&2) Registration Centres in Weija-Gbawe; Teshie Aboma Presby Church Registration Centre in Ledzokuku; and the Super Service Registration Centre in Klottey Korle.

Accompanied by the Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, and the Director of Communications, Eugene Arhin, President Akufo-Addo interacted with the registration officials at each of the five centres, who walked him through the processes of registering an eligible voter.

The President was told that, upon entering a registration centre, all persons are required to wear a nose mask, after which their temperatures are taken by nurses stationed at each centre. Indeed, the Ghana Health Service has released some 7,000 community health nurses to the various registration centres.

Eligible persons are then required to wash their hands with soap under running water, before being allowed to join the queue.

At each of the centres, there was a strict adherence to social distancing, with eligible voters maintaining a one (1) metre, after which the voters go through the process to be registered.

President Akufo-Addo was told that the majority of persons who had turned up to be registered were in possession of the Ghana Card and passports. A small number of persons without any of these valid ID cards submitted one completed Identification Guarantee Form, endorsed by two registered voters, to be registered and issued with a voter ID card.

After the completion of the registration process and leaving the centres, the registration officials told the him that hand sanitizers had been provided for the mandatory sanitizing of hands by the eligible voters.

Visibly encouraged by the processes, the President urged the registration officials to continue to adhere to the safety protocols outlined to ensure the safety of all persons who visit the registration centres.

Interacting with some of the persons waiting in queue to be registered, the President urged them to continue to observe the COVID-19 safety protocols, whilst going through the process to be registered.

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It will be recalled that during his recent broadcast to the nation, ahead of the commencement of the registration exercise, President Akufo-Addo noted that if an eligible citizen’s name is not on the register, that citizen cannot exercise the right to vote, and cannot, therefore, participate in the determination of the choice of the government of the day.

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“It is, thus, vitally important that all eligible voters register, so, on the designated day of 7th December, they can vote to choose the President of the nation, and the Member of Parliament of their area. In effect, our vote, our thumb, is the expression of our individual sovereign power as a citizen, which we should cherish and guard at all times,” he said.

Story: Sheila Satori Mensa

Prez Akufo-Addo cuts sod for the reactivation 46-year-old KATH MCH project

Completion works are to start on an uncompleted ward for children and mothers at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), which has been abandoned for almost 50 years, Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr Oheneba Owusu-Danso has said.

Dr Owusu-Danso was speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony on Friday, 15 May 2020.

The 800-bed capacity ward was started in 1974.

The government secured a 138-million-euro funding last year for its completion.

Dr Oheneba Owusu-Danso commended the government for the project.

He said: “By virtue of this, the hospital will boast of one of the modern women and children’s facility in the world when completed. The 800-bed project, among others, will have an emergency reception for children and pregnant women, 10 theatres, intensive care units, a breastfeeding centre, a paediatric surgery unit, pharmacy, dedicated medical oxygen plant, lecture halls, cafeteria, gift shops and other specialty facilities.

“Upon completion, this project is expected to revolutinalise the provision of maternal and paediatric care in this part of the country and make the hospital a formidable centre of excellence in the training of specialist health professionals in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa.”

He noted: “As part of the national efforts to help achieve same-day delivery of COVID-19 test results, I’m happy to announce that management has facilitated a laboratory services directorate here to complete the setup of a COVID-19 testing laboratory. This follows over three weeks of preparation with all the necessary physical infrastructure, equipment and consumables and very good test-runs validated by the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).

“Full operations of this special lab will commence on Monday. This will help relieve the KCCR of some workload and also facilitate prompt delivery of results for all samples taken at the hospital and also those received from other facilities.”

Full text: Prez Akufo-Addo’s 9th address to the nation on Covid-19 crisis; In case you missed it

Fellow Ghanaians, good evening. It has been eight (8) weeks since our nation embarked on a co-ordinated, enhanced response towards combating the Coronavirus pandemic, after we recorded our first two (2) confirmed cases. We have taken the necessary measures of aggressively tracing, testing, isolating and treating infected persons and their contacts, as a means of containing the spread of the virus amongst the population.

Measures such as the temporary partial lockdown of Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa, the adherence to enhanced hygiene and social distancing protocols, the ban on public gatherings, and the closure of our schools and our borders have imposed considerable difficulties on all of us. But, I am heartened that we appreciate that they are essential to save lives and livelihoods, and I thank all of you for your continuing co-operation.

As at Wednesday, 6th May, a total of one hundred and thirty five thousand, nine hundred and two (135,902) tests had been conducted, with our country’s total number of confirmed cases standing, at the time, at three thousand, and ninety-one (3,091), with three hundred and three (303) recoveries, and, sadly, eighteen (18) deaths. On Thursday, 7 th May, fourteen thousand and forty-six (14,046) more tests were conducted, and this included the clearing of the last set of backlogs. Our total confirmed cases, then, rose to four thousand and twelve (4,012) positives, i.e., nine hundred and twenty-one (921) new cases.

Our recoveries stood at three hundred and twenty-three (323), eight (8) persons were critically ill, and deaths still at eighteen (18). It is important to stress that five hundred and thirty-three (533) out of the nine hundred and twenty-one (921) new cases recorded between last Wednesday and Thursday are factory workers from a fish processing factory 2 located in Tema. All five hundred and thirty-three (533) persons were infected by one (1) person. Again, let me reiterate that these new nine hundred and twenty-one (921) cases were from backlogs dating as far back as 26th April, and not necessarily over a twenty-four (24) hour window.

The coming on stream of seven (7) more testing facilities across the country, to complement the efforts of the Noguchi Research Institute, the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, and the National Public Health Reference Laboratory at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, have meant that we have been able to clear all the backlog of tests, and the reporting on the cases of infections since Friday, 8th May, is now current. On Friday, a total of five thousand, two hundred and fifty-three (5,253) tests were conducted, with two hundred and fifty-one (251) positives. On Saturday, two thousand, two hundred and fifty-five (2,255) tests were conducted, with two hundred and sixty-six (266) found to be positive. For today, Sunday, a total of three thousand and forty-five (3,045) tests have been done, with one hundred and sixty (160) testing positive.

These relatively lower daily numbers of infections are welcome, and reinforces the fact that the measures instituted to help reduce person-to-person contact, and help defeat the pandemic are working. So, as at today, Sunday, 10th May, the country has conducted a total of one hundred and sixty thousand, five hundred and one (160,501) tests, with our total number of infections standing at four thousand, seven hundred (4,700), with four hundred and ninety-four (494) recoveries, five (5) persons being critically ill, and four thousand, one hundred and seventy-nine (4,179) persons responding to treatment.

Twenty-two (22) persons, virtually all of them with underlying illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and chronic liver disease, have unhappily died. We must understand that the more people we test for the virus, the more persons we will discover as positive, and, thus, have the opportunity to isolate and treat them. If you do not test people for the virus, you will not find the persons who are positive, let alone isolate them from the population and treat them, and prevent them from spreading the virus. Indeed, had we 3 not been proactive in undertaking enhanced contact tracing of infected persons, and had relied solely on testing persons who reported to hospital, which is the practice followed by some other countries, i.e. routine testing, our total case count would have stood at one thousand, four hundred and thirteen (1,413).

The other three thousand, two hundred and thirty-two (3,232), i.e. two-thirds (⅔) of the population of positives, would have been undetected, and still be within the population, unknowingly infecting others. I know some political actors will want you to believe that our current numbers represent a failure on the part of Government. Do not begrudge them. They need to make such comments for their political survival. On the contrary, we must be emboldened in the knowledge that the four thousand, seven hundred (4,700) persons infected, so far, with the virus, have been identified, taken out of the population, isolated and are being treated.

The implementation of our strategy of aggressively tracing, testing and treating is our surest way of rooting out the virus. This early identification of persons with the virus ensures that they do not spread the virus to others; we are provided with the opportunity to treat them; and it helps us to understand better the dynamics of the virus. The rapid implementation of all of our policies has resulted in our low infection, hospitalisation and death rates, some of the lowest in Africa and the world. We, certainly, must be doing something right in Ghana. Our country has administered more tests per million people than any other country in Africa, and, in fact, the World Health Organisation has reached out to us to share our sample pooling experience with other African countries, so they can adopt this strategy and also ramp up their testing capabilities.

It is, thus, vital that we continue to maintain the measures of enhanced hygiene and social distancing protocols to contain the spread of the virus, as they are the surest way to a quick return to a life of normalcy. All stakeholder bodies I have interacted with over the last three (3) weeks, in the health, labour, religious, chieftaincy, educational, hospitality, tourism and creative arts sectors, share in this opinion, because, collectively, we believe they are essential for our very survival. These groups are also being engaged on the way forward towards the easing of these restrictions, so that our social and economic lives can go back to normal, whilst protecting lives at the same 4 time. Soon, those engagements will enable us to design a clear roadmap for the easing of restrictions.

In my address to workers and the nation on May Day, I announced the extension of the closure of our borders for one more month as the means to continue halting the importation of the virus into our country. Tonight, I have come into your homes to announce that the ban on public gatherings, as set out in E.I 64, has been extended also to the end of the month, i.e. 31st May. So, during this period, there will continue to be a ban on public gatherings, such as the holding of conferences, workshops, parties, nightclubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals, political rallies, religious activities and sporting events. All educational facilities, private and public, continue to remain closed. There is still a ban on funerals, other than private burials conducted with not more than twenty-five (25) persons.

It is noteworthy that the Police are arresting and prosecuting persons, irrespective of their status in society, who flout these regulations. We cannot allow a few persons, for their narrow, selfish interests, to jeopardise the health, well-being and safety of the larger population. If you fall foul of the law, you will face its full rigours. Fellow Ghanaians, I, like you, would love to see an end to these restrictions. I know the difficulties each and every one of you has been through over the last two months. You have had to alter completely your way of life; you have had to stay at home, except for specified purposes; you cannot travel outside the country; you cannot go to Church, and you had to cancel activities usually associated with Easter; in this Holy Month of Ramadan, our Muslim brothers and sisters are having to pray at home, instead of congregating at the Mosque, and foregoing the public celebration of the Eid; parents are having to bear the extra burden of providing care for their children who, instead of being in school, are currently at home; operators of trotros, taxis, buses, markets, hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs have lost the patronage of their clients, and, as a result, lost much needed incomes; significant numbers of people have, unfortunately, lost their jobs because of the impact of the virus on our economy; most of us want to hang out with our families, friends and loved ones in a social setting, but cannot.

Uncomfortable as these restrictions have been, we have no option but to stay the course. We can only guarantee the safety of each other if we continue to adhere to them. As I have said before, these restrictions cannot and will not be a permanent feature of our lives, and, shortly, I hope to announce the steps for, systematically, easing the restrictive measures to bring us back to normality. Each one of us, however, can help to speed up this process if we continue to practice the measures of social distancing, washing our hands with soap under running water, refraining from shaking hands, and, wearing our masks whenever we leave our homes. These measures must be respected by all.

We do this not just for ourselves, but also to lessen the workload on our health workers, who continue to be at the forefront of caring for those affected by the virus, and caring for the sick in general. On our part, in addition to the incentive package instituted for all healthcare workers, Government has so far distributed the following to healthcare facilities across the country: four million, two hundred and forty thousand, seven hundred and nineteen (4,240,719) gloves; two million, five hundred and seventy six thousand, three hundred and thirty three (2,576,333) nose masks; sixty thousand, eight hundred and twenty-three (60,823) goggles; sixty thousand, one hundred and thirty two (60,132) litres of sanitizers; fifty thousand, seven hundred and seventy (50,770) head covers; forty one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-two (41,992) gowns; forty-one thousand (41,000) medical scrubs; and thirty thousand, seven hundred and eighty-three (30,783) N-95 face masks.

Further, we have extended this gesture to other frontline actors engaged in the fight, with the presentation of five thousand (5,000) PPEs to members of the media, and tomorrow, Monday, 11 th May, ten thousand domestically-produced face masks and more money will be delivered to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), to enhance its capacity to undertake the important work it is already doing. Let me, once again, thank the healthcare workers, including all those responsible for the tracing, testing and treating, for their heroic contribution to the fight against the pandemic. They will be long remembered in our history. In advance, I say a hearty ayekoo to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, which celebrates its sixtieth (60th) anniversary on Tuesday.

This weekend, I chaired a three-day cabinet retreat, at Peduase Lodge, to examine in detail measures aimed at reviving and strengthening our economy. I am happy to reiterate that Government is putting in place a Resilience and Recovery Plan, with the overarching aim of finding more resources to strengthen the productive sectors of the economy to ensure sustained economic activity. We are rolling out a soft loan scheme of six hundred million cedis (GH¢600 million), in this month of May, to support micro, small and medium scale businesses, and, as you know, the commercial banks, with the support of the Bank of Ghana, have also instituted a three billion cedi (GH¢3 billion) credit and stimulus package, to help revitalise industries, especially in the pharmaceutical, hospitality, services, and manufacturing sectors.

The Minister for Finance is working tirelessly to find additional resources to supplement these amounts, including the resources to finance the construction of eighty-eight (88) district hospitals, ‘Agenda 88’, and seven (7) regional hospitals, which he will announce at the appropriate time to Parliament and the nation. Before bringing this address to an end, it is critical that I raise one significant side of the fight against this virus, which has not been given enough emphasis, but has to do with the change in attitude that will impact our lifestyles.

That has to be one of the permanent legacies of the pandemic. We have to improve our hygiene, our fitness and exercises, our eating, generally, our style of living, which will boost our immunity to disease and the virus. For instance, we are told that the key vitamins that fortify our immune system are vitamins A, B6, C, and E. Fortunately for us, in Ghana, all of these can be found in many of our foods, such as oranges, kontomire, millet, cashew nuts, crabs, plantain, okro, dawadawa, brown rice and mushrooms. Following a good diet, patronising our healthy foods, exercising regularly, ensuring our personal hygiene, and improving our lifestyle habits should become part and parcel of our daily routines, which will help bolster our immune systems, and help us in the fight against the pandemic.

Fellow Ghanaians, this virus, as we have seen the world over, is no respecter of persons, and has wreaked its havoc on every country on the planet. We can defeat it if we continue to look out for one another, and remain each other’s keeper. We are fighting a common enemy, and it is imperative that we do not allow religious, ethnic or political differences to get in the way of 7 certain victory.

So, we cannot allow a few persons, who wish to use these differences to scuttle our collective fight, to succeed. Over the course of our history as a people, we have had to overcome several trials and tribulations: slavery, imperialism, colonialism, tyranny and dictatorship, and we have overcome them all so that, with the help of the Almighty, we are, today, building a free, independent State, a State that, despite the urgency of the crisis, is governed by democratic institutions, and respect for fundamental human rights, especially freedom of speech.

That is as it should be, for we are determined in our generation to realise the dreams of freedom that animated and inspired the founders of our State. I am confident that we will overcome this pandemic, as well. This, too, shall pass! For the Battle is the Lord’s!! May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong. I thank you for your attention, and have a good night.

Editorial: List of uncompleted health facilities of John Mahama completed by Prez Akufo-Addo’s government

I have seen the NDC autopilot communicators been asked to question why the President will announce the construction of 6 Regional and 88 District Hospitals when several hospitals of JM (they claim) have been abandoned.

Let me take some time to enumerate health projects we inherited, and have completed and operationalized them.

I hope these NDC guys will read and revise their notes.

1. Construction and Equipping of 10 Polyclinics in the Central Region

They are located in the following towns; Besease, Gomoa Dawurampong, Biriwa, Sunkwa, Birempong Agya, Gyamera, Mankron, Ekumfode, Ekumfi Naakwa and Gomoa

These projects were initiated by the NDC in 2016 but were completed by NPP in 2018.

2. Upgrade and Rehabilitation of Tamale Teaching Hospital.

Phase 2 of this project began in 2015 and was supposed to be completed in December, 2018. It has duly been completed by NPP and commissioned by Health Minister.

3. Construction and Equipping on 597 Bed UG Medical Centre.

JM couldn’t complete even the Phase 1 of this project but the NPP inherited, completed and operationalized it.
We have also secured funding for Phase 2 which is ongoing.
Project expected to be completed and fully operationalized by October, 2020.

4. Construction of Offices and Ministry of Health Headquarters.

This was inherited and completed by NPP.
The ministry have now be relocated into its new headquarters close the NHIS headquarters at Ridge.

5. Expansion of Radiotherapy Medical Services at Korle Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.

This project was abandoned before we assumed office. Funding arrangement were reengaged and the project has resumed. It’s expected to be completed by end of this year.

6. Construction of 2 Regional and 6 District Hospitals by Eurojet

These were projects initiated by Prez Kuffour. Work commenced between 2009-16 but none of these 8 projects were completed by NDC in 8yrs. When we assumed office we had to reengage the contractors

Currently, we have commissioned and operationalized the Wa Regional Hospital,

– The Ga East District Hospital also in operation (Which is now the National COVID-19 treatment centre in Accra)
– All other sites like Twifo Praso, Konongo, Odumase, Nsorkor, Tepa and Salaga are still in progress. Tepa and Nsorkor are to be completed by close of June and November, 2020.

7. Construction of 8 District Hospital and Integrated IT Systems in Ghana.

These projects located in Wa, Fomena, Kumawu, Abetifi, Garu Tempani, Sekondi, and Takoradi were abandoned in July, 2016.
Only the Dodowa project was completed by the NDC.

We did a value for money audit which revealed that money spent was far in excess of work done.
We have written to attorney general to terminate these contract based on auditors recommendations.

So let it be on record that no project of the NDC has been abandoned the NPP administration.

We will also make available hospital projects initiated and completed by the NPP since January, 2017 to date.

Challenge the Sammy Gyamfi and NDC the published the list of 3,000 Chip Compounds they claim it was built be JM with their locations.

Compiled By:
Benjamin A Akowuah
(NPP Natl. Comms Team)

Full speach of Prez Akufo-Addo On Updates To Ghana’s Enhanced Response To The Coronavirus Pandemic

Address To The Nation By The President Of The Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, On Updates To Ghana’s Enhanced Response To The Coronavirus Pandemic, On Sunday, 26th April, 2020.

Fellow Ghanaians, good evening. It is a privilege for me, once again, to come into your homes to speak to you about the state of our common battle against the pandemic of the Coronavirus that is affecting all parts of the world, including our own. Exactly a week ago, I announced the lifting of restrictions on movement of persons resident in Accra, Kumasi, Tema and Kasoa. I did so on the basis of the data and science, as well as on a careful analysis of the impact of the restrictions on several sectors of our population, especially our informal workers, who need to have a day out in order to provide for themselves and their families, the poor and the vulnerable.

Since I last spoke to you, we have completed the analysis of another thirty two thousand, and thirty one (32,031) samples, bringing the number of tests from sixty-eight thousand, five hundred and ninety-one (68,591) to one hundred thousand, six hundred and twenty two (100,622). From this pool, the total number of confirmed infections have gone from one thousand and forty-two (1,042), to one thousand, five hundred and fifty (1,550).

Our recoveries are now one hundred and fifty-five (155), and deaths eleven (11). The two (2) new cases of deaths, like the other nine (9), are all of persons with underlying health issues, what the doctors call comorbidity. The positivity rate, i.e. the rate of infection from those sampled, continues to remain constant at 1.5%. Six (6) persons are critically ill, and the remaining one thousand, three hundred and seventy-eight (1,378) have mild or no symptoms at all, and are responding to treatment. Of the five hundred and eight (508) new confirmed cases, four hundred and sixty-five (465) are from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, ten (10) from Kasoa in the Central Region, seven (7) from the Ashanti Region, six (6) in the Eastern Region, two (2) in the Northern Region, one (1) in Western North, and seventeen (17) from the Oti Region.

These seventeen (17) were the result of interceptions near Nkwanta by officers of the Immigration Service and other security personnel of two (2) cargo vehicles that had on 2 board a total of sixty-seven (67) passengers, who were illegally entering the Region from Accra during the period of the ‘lockdown’, and all of whom were tested, with seventeen (17) proving positive. We are still very much in unchartered territory, and, clearly, we still have some way to go towards ridding ourselves of the virus.

The truth is that this will be a long war, broken up into several battles. Indeed, we registered a modest success in the important battle to trace and test many of the persons who had come into contact with infected persons, and we cannot, and will not rest on our laurels. We will not let our guard down, as the fight against this virus has to progress. We will pursue vigorously our strategy of enhanced 3Ts, i.e. tracing and testing to allow us identify infected persons, and isolating and treating them. It is the surest way to root out the virus.

Also: Ban on public gatherings extended for the next two weeks

Our efforts will remain constant, as will our abiding faith in the Almighty and our determination to defeat the virus. We must continue to be grateful to members of the media, members of our security forces, and our health workers for their sacrifice and high sense of patriotism in their contribution to the fight against the virus. The health workers, who are working day and night to care for the stricken, must continually be in our prayers. Their efforts will be in vain if we, at home, do not support them. In addition to the incentive package given to all health workers, Government has enabled domestic production and supply of protective equipment to our health workers to increase significantly – they have received, in recent days, nine hundred and five thousand, and thirty-one (905,031) nose masks, thirty one thousand, six hundred and thirty (31,630) medical scrubs, thirty one thousand, four hundred and seventy-two (31,472) gowns, forty six thousand, eight hundred and seventy (46,870) head covers, and eighty three thousand, five hundred (83,500) N-95 face masks.

We are also grateful for yesterday’s gift of medical supplies from the government of the United States of America to help boost our testing capacity, the latest assistance we have received from a friendly foreign nation. So, let us, on our part, continue to protect further our health workers by practicing social distancing, washing our hands with soap under running water, refraining from shaking hands, and, yes, wearing our masks 3 whenever we leave our homes. I am happy to note that the hardworking Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, Member of Parliament for Dormaa Central, has, as of yesterday, 25th April, 2020, issued directives to guide the production and mandatory wearing of face masks. We should all familiarize ourselves with them, and apply them, as the Regional Coordinating Councils of the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Central Regions are demanding of their residents.

Together, all these protocols will prove effective in helping each one of us to avoid contracting the virus. The doctors and scientists tell us that the virus is transmitted from human contact – talking, singing, coughing, sneezing, and, thereby, sending droplets of the virus from one person to another. That is why each one of us must adhere strictly to these directives.

Fellow Ghanaians, in the course of this past week, I engaged a number of stakeholders to discuss the future of existing measures which have imposed restrictions on public gatherings, shut down our schools, and closed our borders. I met with the Chairperson and Members of the Council of State, the President and Members of the Standing Committee of the National House of Chiefs, representatives of organised labour, i.e. the leadership of the Trades Union Congress, the leadership of the Christian Community, the leadership of the Muslim Community, the President and Executive Committee of the Ghana Medical Association, representatives and leaders of the Media, and the leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), and its affiliated associations.

The strong consensus that emerged from these and other consultations is that the existing measures must be maintained for now, until we have a firm grip on the movement of the virus. This consensus is supported by data and science, and I am also very much of this view. I have, accordingly, by Executive Instrument, extended for another two (2) weeks the suspension of all public and social gatherings, as set out in E.I 64 of 15th March, 2020, effective tomorrow, 1am, Monday, 27th April.

I am encouraged that so many of our trotros, taxis, and buses are operating with a minimal number of passengers, and our businesses and supermarkets are enforcing the need for social distancing, the use of hand sanitizers and the wearing of masks for all patrons and staff. I want to signal out supermarkets such as Melcom, Palace and Shoprite, in particular, for the 4 excellent discipline they are maintaining in their enterprises across the country, and call upon all other enterprises, especially our market women, to emulate them. The example of markets in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, where social distancing is being well observed, is an excellent one for market women all over the country. I am fully aware of the sacrifices in reduced revenues that all businesses and enterprises are suffering. But, I believe we have no option but to sacrifice to defeat this virus.

This is the time for sacrifice, so that we do not have to bear a greater cost in the future. Unhappily, there continues to be the worrying news of a few Ghanaians aiding some West African nationals to enter our country illegally, despite the closure of our borders. Even more disturbing is the fact that several of the West Africans, who have been arrested, have later tested positive for the virus.

These are unpatriotic acts, and must stop. We cannot continue to allow a few persons, who are motivated by their own selfish, money-making interests, to endanger the lives of the rest of the population. Not only will persons who enter our country illegally be strictly dealt with, but so will Ghanaians who facilitate their entry. As I have said before, being a Ghanaian must mean that we look out for each other. Just as the virus has disrupted our daily lives, it has also exposed the deficiencies of our healthcare system, because of years of under-investment and neglect. Whilst maternal, new-born, adolescent health and nutrition remain our top priorities, we must pay increased attention to chronic, noncommunicable diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and asthma, which have proved to be the common risk factors for the eleven (11) deaths we have recorded from the virus.

It has highlighted the need to address mental health issues, and the crucial role of emergency services, to which the new fleet of ambulances and drones are responding. We must emphasise preventive and promotive aspects of health, in addition to care for the sick. The virus has also revealed the unequal distribution of healthcare facilities, as we have tended to focus our infrastructure on Accra and one or two of our other big cities. But, as we have seen, epidemics and pandemics, when they emerge, can spread to any part of our country.

There are eighty-eight (88) districts in our country without district hospitals; we have six (6) new regions without regional hospitals; we do not have 5 infectious disease control centres dotted across the country; and we do not have enough testing and isolation centres for diseases like COVD-19. We must do something urgently about this. That is why Government has decided to undertake a major investment in our healthcare infrastructure, the largest in our history. We will, this year, begin constructing eighty-eight (88) hospitals in the districts without hospitals.

It will mean ten (10) in Ashanti, nine (9) in Volta, nine (9) in Central, eight (8) in Eastern, seven (7) in Greater Accra, seven (7) in Upper East, five (5) in Northern, five (5) in Oti, five (5) in Upper West, five (5) in Bono, four (4) in Western North, four (4) in Western, three (3) in Ahafo, three (3) in Savannah, two (2) in Bono East, and two (2) in North East Regions.

Each of them will be a quality, standard-design, one hundredbed hospital, with accommodation for doctors, nurses and other health workers, and the intention is to complete them within a year. We have also put in place plans for the construction of six (6) new regional hospitals in the six (6) new regions, and the rehabilitation of the EffiaNkwanta Hospital, in Sekondi, which is the regional hospital of the Western Region. We are going to beef up our existing laboratories, and establish new ones across every region for testing. We will establish three (3) infectious disease control centres for each of the zones of our country, i.e. Coastal, Middle Belt and Northern, with the overall objective of setting up a Ghana Centre for Disease Control. The recent, tragic CSM outbreak, with over forty (40) deaths, has reaffirmed the need for ready access to such infectious disease control centres, even though, in our time, nobody should die of the disease.

Early reporting is what is required, and I implore everybody to heed this call. We shall make these investments in our healthcare system not because it is going to be easy, but because it is self-evidently necessary to serve the needs of 21st century Ghana. The three (3) Development Authorities, the Zongo Development Fund, and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies will be tasked to place health infrastructure amongst their highest priorities in the coming years.

Soon, at the appropriate time, the exact volume of investment required will be duly and transparently laid out for public scrutiny and action. 6 It is obvious that, side by side with the investment in the physical infrastructure of our public health system, we will have to intensify our policies for the growth of our domestic pharmaceutical industry, so that we can generate our own medicines and medical supplies and products.

We should no longer be dependent on foreign imports. Further, the National Health Insurance Scheme is, currently, in a stronger position, as a result of the significant reduction in outstanding arrears. It is my hope and expectation that this expanded and empowered public health system will be the most enduring legacy of the pandemic. Universal health coverage in Ghana will, then, become real and meaningful, for every Ghanaian deserves good health and good healthcare.

Fellow Ghanaians, just as the Christian Celebration of Easter was severely affected by the virus, resulting in the cancellation of the usual activities associated with Easter, the Holy Month of Ramadan has not been spared either. It is my understanding that in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Allayhi Wa’Salam, anytime there was heavy rain, he admonished the faithful, through the Azan, to stay in their houses and pray, rather than going to the mosques.

In Bukhari’s collection of the Hadith, Book 13, Hadith No. 24, Ibn Sirin reports that Ibn Abbas said to his muezzin, and I quote, “after saying ‘I testify that Muhammad is Allah’s messenger’, do not say, ‘come for the prayer’, but say, ‘pray in your houses’…It was done by one much better than I…” (that is the Prophet) Through analogical deduction, Muslim scholars agree that ‘rain’ represented danger, and, therefore, the prescription for Muslims to stay at home and pray in times of heavy rain is applicable to all life-threatening situations.

I, thus, call on all Muslims to heed this prophetic admonishment to pray at home, so we can protect ourselves from the danger of COVID-19. This is in line with the counsel of the wise, devout Muslim scholar, the Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu. I wish all Muslims Ramadan Mubarak. In this period, let me state, once again, that the virus is the enemy, and not one another. We must be resolute in our unity to defeat this invisible enemy. No country on earth has been spared the ravages of this virus, and my singleminded goal is how to steer the country out of this crisis, protect our 7 population from the virus, and see to the rebuilding of our economy. Nothing else matters for me. Fellow Ghanaians, we must now begin to lift our heads above the parapet, and look at our future with courage and hope. I shall be outlining, shortly, the path for bringing the restrictive measures, systematically, to an end, and defining the basket of measures for the revival and growth of our national economy. We have to own our future.

I am truly proud, and, indeed, humbled, to stand here today as your President, witnessing the unfettered assistance Ghanaians have given to each other, the help you have offered to those in need, the generosity of your contributions to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund, and the support and understanding you have given to the difficult measures Government has had to undertake.

It is said that out of adversity comes opportunity, and, through this ordeal, we, Ghanaians, have had the opportunity to re-introduce ourselves to one another, showing the best of who we are. The solidarity and humanity on display in these past days fills me with even more optimism that Ghana will overcome this crisis, and come out even stronger and more resilient.

Enuanom, me nim sɛ nia aba yi, aha nyen nyinaa. Nenso, me wɔ awirehyemu sɛ, Onyankopɔn adaruma, nsɛm aa makasɛ nyɛ yɔ no, aa yɛɛ yɛ no, yɛkɔsu di su aa, enu na ɛbɛ boa yɛn. Obia hohoro ni nsa, obiaa ndi ni hu ni, ye pia aa, yɛn shɛ mask, yɛwɔ abɔntin aa, yɛn ma kwain ɛnda yɛntem. ɛyɛ masɛdiɛ sɛɛ asɛm bi baa, ɛsɛ mi bɔ mo ho bain. Mon boa mi, na mentumi yɛ m’adwuma. Na Onyankopɔn bɛ boa ama yefri ɔhaw yi mu. Anyɛmi mɛi, inle akɛshi nɔni eba nɛɛ, egba wɔfɛɛ wɔ na. Shi iyɛ hemɔ kɛ yɛli akɛ, Nyumor dromor naa, nibii ni inkɛ akɛ wɔ fee, ni wɔn fee, kɛ wo ye nɔ, no ni baa wa wɔ fɛɛ. Mofɛmɔ afɔ ede, ni ekwɛ ehe jogbaa. Kɛ wor je kpo, wor wo mask ɛɛ. Kɛ wor je kpo, wɔ ha gbɛ aka wɔ tein. Innitsumɔ ji akɛ, kɛ sane ba, esani makwɛ ni noko aka fee nyɛ. Nyɛ wami, ni ma nyɛ mafee innitsumɔ. Ni, Nyumor baa wa wɔ, ni wɔ dze nekɛ sane nɛɛ mi.

This, too, shall pass! For the battle is the Lord’s. 8 May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.

I thank you for your attention.

Update 8: Prez Akufo-Addo to speak to Ghanaians tonight

The President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will tonight address the nation and give update on the fight against novel Covid-19 pandemic and things the government has put in place in fighting the disease.

The President on Sunday 19th April 2020 addressed the nation and lifted the partial lockdown which was imposed on some some parts of the country.

Some Ghanaians have started anticipating a nationwide lockdown since most people are not adhering to the precautionary protocols.

Just as the President said, all measures shall be subjected for review and he is expected to speak around 20:00GMT

Ghana now has 1,550 confirmed cases with 11 deaths and 155 recoveries

“Your bold decisions have led to Ghana’s low Covid-19 infection rate” – Togbe Afede XIV to Prez Akufo-Addo

The President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV, has thanked the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for instituting the bold measures that have resulted in a rather low infection rate of 1.5% in the country.

Delivering his remarks on Wednesday, 22nd April, 2020, when the Executive Committee of the National House of Chiefs held a meeting, at the invitation of President Akufo-Addo, at Jubilee House, Togbe Afede XIV extended the appreciation of the entire House of Chiefs to the President for this feat.

“On behalf of my colleagues, I wish to congratulate you for all the bold decisions that have produced this low infection rate – the ban on public gatherings, closure of our borders, social distancing and the recent lockdown of parts of the country. They are very commendable, bold decisions,” he said.

According to Togbe Afede XIV, the National House of Chiefs has taken a keen interest in the fight against COVID-19, and, “that is why, among other things, we have asked our Chiefs and other traditional rulers to put in their maximum effort in support of government.”

He continued, “We consider our country to be at war, and so we have asked our Chiefs to take it as their obligation to lead the fight against COVID-19, the invisible enemy. We asked our chiefs to rise up to the occasion and support government’s efforts to fight the disease.”

Amongst others, Togbe Afede revealed that all Chiefs across the country have been asked to keep abreast of the preventative measures and directives issued by government, and to abide by them and educate their subjects in order to stem the spread of the disease in their various communities.

Again, he indicated that the National House of Chiefs has asked for the suspension of all traditional festivals, and asked chiefs to ensure that any rites or traditional activities and purification rites are consistent with the President’s directives on social distancing.

“I am happy to note that our various regional houses, traditional councils, individual chiefs have all been very supportive and have done various things in their communities to support the fight and I am glad about the appreciation that you have shown for these various efforts. Everybody here has done something in his community, some donated cash and some have educated their communities on the directives,” he added.

Expressing his delight about the fact that “so far, Ghana has not recorded COVID- related violence, the type we hear about in India and all those places”, he indicated that the policies introduced by President Akufo-Addo that “have been adopted here are generally understood and have been observed by our people. Congrats to the approach of your team.”

Togbe Afede noted that the COVID-19 pandemic should imbibe in all Ghanaians the importance of savings and investments against a rainy day.

“We must cultivate a saving habit in preparation for future exigencies. Your Excellency, I also want to re-echo the point you have made very often that we are in this battle together against the invisible enemy and we all need to be united and nation minded in all that we say at this critical time in our nation’s history,” he noted.

How long will churches, mosques, schools remain closed? – Akufo-Addo decides

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is meeting members of the Council of State to decide on the future of Ghana regarding the measures put in place in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The president expressed satisfaction with the measures so far and, more importantly, the level of compliance by the majority of Ghanaians but said a decision has to be taken on “where we should be going”.

He expressed these sentiments on Tuesday, April 21 when he met the Council of State at the Jubilee House.

Led by Chairman Nana Otuo Siriboe II, the Council of State expressed admiration for the manner in which the president has handled the crisis so far and spurred him on to continue in that direction.

“Indeed, looking at one of the speeches, it reminded me of the way Churchill adopted the affairs of Britain during the 2nd World War and I said Mr President this has been very ‘Churchillian’ both in your delivery and in your comportment and in the depth and content of your speech,” Nana Otuo Siriboe II said.

In explaining the reasons behind the recent single-most important decision to lift the partial lockdown in some parts of the country, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that other measures are still in force, nonetheless.

But he wondered how these can be dealt with as they cannot be a “permanent feature of our national lives”.

“I am anxious to hear your views as to where we are, where we should be going,” he addressed the Council.

“There are still very important measures in place that are impacting the daily lives of our people. How long can we keep the churches closed, how long can we keep the mosques closed? What about our schools? When are they going to be able to resume? What are the circumstances or conditions that we have to see in satisfying before those measures can be taken?”

The closed-door meeting with the Council is expected to firm up decisions on the way forward.

In case you missed it: Address to the Nation by Prez Akufo-Addo on updates to Ghana’s enhanced response to the Coronavirus pandemic, on Sunday, 19th April, 2020.

ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, ON UPDATES TO GHANA’S ENHANCED RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, ON SUNDAY, 19TH APRIL, 2020.

Fellow Ghanaians, good evening,

Today, Sunday, 19th April, 2020, is exactly three (3) weeks since I came to you and announced the imposition of restrictions to movement in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts. I explained, at the time, that the decision was taken to give Government the opportunity to try to contain the spread of the virus, scale-up effectively the tracing of persons who had come into contact with infected persons, test them for the virus, and, if necessary, quarantine and isolate them for treatment, should they prove to be positive for the virus.

This decision to restrict movement has occasioned a number of severe difficulties for all of us across the country, especially for the poor and vulnerable, and not only for those resident in the affected areas. Let me express my gratitude to all of you for bearing with Government, all health workers, and with members of our security services, throughout this period. I requested all of us to sacrifice for our collective good, and we have been doing just that.

I thank all our healthcare workers, the men and women of our security services, and members of the media, for the work they are doing in helping to combat the spread of the virus. Let me also thank the individuals and organisations who have made contributions to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund. It is truly appreciated.

Fellow Ghanaians, since the first two (2) cases of infections were recorded on our shores, we have, till date, traced some eighty-six thousand (86,000) contacts, out of which we have test results of sixty-eight thousand, five hundred and ninety-one (68,591) contacts. There is, thus, a backlog of some eighteen thousand (18,000) tests whose results are yet to be received. The overwhelming majority of these contacts have been established in the last three weeks of the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi. Out of this number, one thousand and forty-two (1,042) persons, i.e. 1.5%, have been confirmed as positive, with sixty seven thousand, five hundred and forty-nine (67,549), i.e. 98.5%, testing negative; ninety-nine (99) persons have recovered and have been discharged; and nine hundred and thirty (930) persons, who have been isolated, are responding to treatment either in their homes or in treatment facilities. These nine hundred and thirty (930) persons, after their treatment, will soon undergo the mandatory two (2) tests to determine if they have also recovered from the virus or otherwise.

The main reason our country has seen an increase in the number of confirmed cases over the last three (3) weeks is because of the decision we took aggressively to trace and test contacts of infected persons. This has enabled us to identify and isolate infected persons, protect the population from further infections, and contain better the spread of the virus. Indeed, Ghana is the only other country in Africa to have conducted more than sixty thousand tests, and we are ranked number one (1) in Africa in administering of tests per million people.

The decision to impose restrictions on movement was backed by the data at hand, and our next course of action, again, is backed by data and by science. Indeed, all that Government is doing is intended to achieve five (5) key objectives – limit and stop the importation of the virus; contain its spread; provide adequate care for the sick; limit the impact of the virus on social and economic life; and inspire the expansion of our domestic capability and deepen our self-reliance.

It is important to state, at the very onset, that scientists at the University of Ghana have successfully sequenced genomes of the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, obtaining important information about the genetic composition of viral strains in fifteen (15) of the confirmed cases in Ghana. This is a significant milestone in Ghana’s response to the pandemic, as it will strengthen surveillance for tracking mutations of the virus, and aid in the tracing of the sources of community infections in people with no known contact with confirmed cases. The Ghanaian scientific community is to be warmly applauded for this advance and contribution to global knowledge. Their work makes us proud to be Ghanaian, and, who knows, God may work through them to discover a vaccine. What a triumph that would be! Indeed, the recent genomic characterisation of African Coronaviruses by our own scientists illustrates the need to establish the enabling framework for sustainable vaccine manufacturing in Africa. We must advance African-led partnerships to drive scientific innovations for the control of viral diseases by vaccination. Ghana, recognising this critical public health tool, will support the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative, which is chaired by Noguchi’s Prof William Ampofo, to promote the agenda for vaccine development and manufacturing in Africa by Africans for the world.

Government has also introduced the use of drones to expedite the transportation of samples to laboratory centres. On Friday, 17th April, for example, fifty-one (51) samples were delivered from the Omenako Drone Distribution Centre to Noguchi. Furthermore, we are introducing rapid results testing to augment our surveillance and enhanced contact tracing efforts, so that we can quickly isolate and treat confirmed cases.

From the sixty-eight thousand, five hundred and ninety-one (68,591) samples tested, we have been able to understand better the dynamism of the virus, map out its geographic footprint, and establish current and potential hotspots. We have also been able to isolate and educate asymptomatic carriers, and, thereby, help minimise the spread of the virus.

So far, it has been established that the virus was imported into our midst from foreign shores, and is being spread through person to person contact. The majority of persons infected in Ghana have mild to no symptoms at all, whilst a very small number have required hospital treatment, out of which nine (9) persons, with underlying ailments, have died.

Towards treatment, we have expanded and added to our network of COVID19 treatment centers, with the Ga East and Bank of Ghana Hospitals being one hundred percent (100%) dedicated to the fight. In addition, we have set aside separate COVID-19 treatment centres at the University of Ghana Medical School Hospital, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi South Hospital, and in other designated Regional and District Hospitals.

Last Friday, I was honoured to do the virtual sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of a 100-bed Infectious Disease and Isolation Facility at the Ga
East Municipal Hospital, which is being funded through a public-private partnership, under the leadership of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund., and whose construction, with the assistance of the 48-Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, will be completed in six (6) weeks. Members of the Private Sector Fund have, indeed, acted like citizens, and not spectators, in these testing times for our country, and their patriotism is to be loudly praised.

We have also scaled up the domestic production of personal protective equipment, and our health care facilities, so far, have taken delivery of fourteen thousand, five hundred and fifty (14,550) scrubs, eleven thousand, nine hundred (11,900) gowns, nineteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty (19,980) head covers, two hundred and sixty three thousand, two hundred and eighty one (263,281) nose masks, thirteen thousand, and two (13,002) N-95 nose masks. Forty-one thousand, one hundred and seventeen (41,117) varying sizes of sanitizers have also been produced locally and delivered to our health facilities.
The enhancement of our capacity to test has been made possible by the dedication of the expanded teams at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, and the National Public Health Reference Laboratory. Further, we are making significant investments in the laboratories at the Veterinary Laboratory, Accra, the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratory, Accra, the Police Hospital, the 37 Military Hospitals, the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho, the Veterinary Services Department in Sekondi-Takoradi, the Public Health Laboratory in Tamale, the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo and the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, so they can also use PCR Technology. We are recalibrating one hundred (100) Regional and District Tuberculosis Gene Expert Laboratories across the country, to help ensure that we have a minimum situation of one testing centre per region.

Fellow Ghanaians, in view of our ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons, the enhancement of our capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of our treatment and isolation centres, our better understanding of the dynamism of the virus, the ramping up of our domestic capacity to produce our own personal protective equipment, sanitisers and medicines, the modest successes chalked at containing the spread of the virus in Accra and Kumasi, and the severe impact on the poor and vulnerable, I have taken the decision to lift the three (3) week old restriction on movements in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts, with effect from 1am on Monday, 20th April. In effect, tomorrow will see the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi being lifted.

I must make it clear, at the outset, that lifting these restrictions does not mean we are letting our guard down. All other measures are still firmly in place. For the avoidance of doubt, the earlier measures announced on Wednesday, 15th March, which have been extended, are still very much in force, and have not been relaxed. I am demanding even greater adherence to these measures.

In here, I am referring to the suspension of all public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, parties, nightclubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals, political rallies, religious activities and sporting events. All educational facilities, private and public, are to remain closed. Businesses and other workplaces can continue to operate, observing staff management and workplace protocols with the view to achieving social distancing and hygiene protocols.

Operators of public transport, including our buses, trotros and taxis, are to continue to run with a minimum number of passengers, as they have been doing for the last three weeks in maintaining social distancing. They must also continue to ensure the maintenance of enhanced hygienic conditions in all vehicles and terminals, by providing, amongst others, hand sanitizers, running water and soap for washing of hands. Domestic airlines are required to adhere to the same protocols.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, together with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, will continue to implement measures to enhance conditions of hygiene in markets across the country, and expand the policy of alternate-days-for-alternative-products to improve social distancing in all markets.

As has been established, the overwhelming majority of confirmed cases have come from travellers or from people who have come into contact with travellers. It is, therefore, incumbent on us to continue to be vigilant about travelers into our country until further notice, and to congratulate the men and women of the Immigration Service and the Marine Police Unit for their work in securing our borders. The arrest of ten (10) West African nationals in Tamale who all tested positive for the virus; the arrest of the six (6) Nigerian travellers who entered Ghana through unapproved routes along the Ghana-Togo border near Aflao, who also tested positive for the virus; and the recent arrest of ten (10) fishermen in the Western Region, who returned from Cote d’ivoire and have been quarantined, testify to the determination of our security services to protect our borders. I have, thus, signed an Executive Instrument, to extend the closure of our borders for two (2) more weeks, beginning Monday, 20th April.

Like the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently advised, I want to encourage you to wear a mask wherever you go, as it will help you not to contract the virus, and keep it clean. If you own a business, or are providing a service, i.e. a barber, a hairdresser, a tailor, a taxi driver, a trotro driver and his ‘mate’, a shop keeper, a food seller, please do well to use a mask. The Ministry of Health will very soon issue guidelines on face masks for public use.

I entreat religious, traditional, community and opinion leaders to partner with government in engaging, mobilising and enforcing adherence to social distancing and personal hygiene practices in their respective communities. As difficult as it may be, I encourage all bereaved persons to conduct private burials of their loved ones, but ensure that the twenty-five (25) person limit is not breached. Indeed, some are burying their loved ones now, in order to have the final funeral rites later. The morgues in the country are becoming full, and will, in themselves, soon pose a public health hazard. So, let us act quickly on this.

As the days go by, and as we continue to sustain a grip on the rapid spread of the virus, the systematic easing of these restrictions will be undertaken to bring life back to normalcy. Definitely, we will continue to record new cases of infections, particularly with our policy of aggressive tracing and testing. However, I want to assure you that Government has put in place the appropriate measures to isolate and treat them. Should there be an unexpected outburst in infections within a community, I have put the health workers and the security services, including the Police Service and the Armed Forces, on standby, to co-ordinate a rapid response of human and logistical resources, if necessary, to cordon, impose a curfew, trace, test, and treat infected persons in the affected community. Indeed, the focus of Government’s policy and action will be based on the implementation of the 3Ts, i.e. tracing, testing and treating. In any event, stay at home, unless it is absolutely essential.

The movement of foodstuffs will continue from producing areas to the markets, and, with the intervention of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, the markets would be better organised for the sale of foodstuffs.

Fellow Ghanaians, as we fight to halt the spread of the virus, we are also engaged in fights on two other fronts – fights we must equally win.

Firstly, there continues to be the deliberate dissemination of fake news, disinformation and outright lies by some unpatriotic citizens about the spread of the virus since its outbreak in the country. These acts are being orchestrated by those who hope to benefit by seeking to sow the seeds of panic and confusion amongst the populace at this time of national crisis. I have an unequivocal message for those involved in these despicable acts – put an immediate stop to it, or be held accountable for your actions.

Secondly, as has been aptly stated by the Ghana Medical Association, being infected by the Coronavirus is not necessarily a death sentence. I have noticed, with great concern, the stories of some persons, who have recovered from the virus, now being confronted with another problem, i.e. stigmatization. This is not right, as it will rather drive people away from getting screened, tested and treated. The stigmatization of recovered persons must stop, because if the virus did not end their lives and livelihoods, the stigma from members of their communities should not.

I know the effects of the measures to contain the virus have been difficult for many, and that is why I mandated the creation of the GH¢1.2 billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme to support households and businesses. Out of this amount, two hundred and eighty million cedis (GH¢280 million) is being used to provide food for the vulnerable and free water for all
Ghanaians for three (3) months, i.e. April, May and June, three hundred and twenty three million cedis (GH¢323 million) is being used to motivate our health workers, and six hundred million cedis (GH¢600 million) of assistance is being provided to micro, small and medium-scale businesses. I expect disbursements of the six hundred million cedis to start in May. Further, Government is fully absorbing electricity bills for one million active lifeline customers, and is granting a fifty percent (50%) subsidy on electricity bills of all other customers, using their March 2020 bill as their benchmark, for the months of April, May and June. In total, the relief on electricity will amount to some one billion cedis (GH¢1.02 billion).

Again, Government, through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture through the National Buffer Stock Company, in collaboration with the MMDCEs and the District Disaster Management Committees, has provided over 2.5 million cooked food packs to vulnerable persons in the affected districts of Accra and Kumasi. Dry food packs have also been distributed, in collaboration with the faith-based organisations, to four hundred and seventy thousand (470,000) families in the same areas, as against the original target of four hundred thousand (400,000). I express my profound gratitude to the private sector and faithbased organisations, and traditional authorities for their support in this endeavour. I also commend highly the many individuals and private organisations who, on their own, organised hot meals and fed a number of vulnerable people within the restricted areas. To these individuals, ayekoo for being good neighbours to your fellow Ghanaians.

As we continue to battle this pandemic, it is imperative we plan to restore Ghana onto a sound economic footing, and create a path towards growth and transformation. The recent one billion United States dollar Rapid Credit Facility, secured from the IMF, without any precondition, and approved by Parliament, will be used to help close the financing gap that has been created by the pandemic through shortfalls in revenues and additional expenditures. I welcome the three billion cedi (GH¢3 billion) credit and stimulus package from the commercial banks, with the support of the Bank of Ghana, to revitalise industries, especially in the pharmaceutical, hospitality, services, and manufacturing sectors. The Minister for Finance, that hardworking, outstanding national treasurer, together with his counterpart in South Africa, as co-Chairs of the Committee of African Finance Ministers, have been leading a Pan-African effort to bring debt relief to the continent in these difficult times. Last Friday, they achieved a nine-month debt standstill from the World Bank for all qualifying members of the International Development Association (IDA), starting from 1st May, 2020, totalling some forty-four billion United States dollars ($44 billion) for the countries of Africa. In the case of Ghana, this amounts to a freeze in principal and interest payments for the year, amounting to some five hundred million United States dollars ($500 million). This will create greater fiscal space to help make the Ghanaian economy much more resilient. I have charged the Finance Minister to leave no stone unturned to achieve an even greater and comprehensive debt relief programme for Africa.

Our success in defeating the virus is largely within our control. That means each and every one of us must exercise, at all times, during this period without the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi, a strong sense of selflessness, self-control and self-discipline.

It is important to stress strongly that coming out of the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi does not mean we are out of the pandemic. We will continue to monitor closely events in some hotspots in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area like Weija Gbawe, Ga East, and Ayawaso East Municipalities, and Tema Metropolis, and in the Eastern Region, like Asuoygaman and Lower Manya Krobo Districts. Whenever the situation so warrants, a community in which the virus is identified as becoming prevalent will be locked-down, until there is a clear understanding of the trajectory of the virus that will allow us to contain it.

We must obey the measures still in place, including the new ones, because we know our survival depends on them, and, the harder we are on ourselves in obeying them, the quicker and more enduring will be the victory.

To Ghanaians in all parts of the world, I urge you to remain steadfast in abiding by the rules and regulations that have been put in place by your host countries to combat the virus, and I extend the condolences of all your compatriots at home to all families abroad who have lost their loved ones to the virus. And, I take this opportunity to wish our High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, my good friend, Papa Owusu Ankomah, who has been affected by the virus, and other Ghanaians abroad who have been so-affected, a speedy recovery.

This disease is new, it is in plain evolution, and there is, therefore, as yet, no vaccine or cure. But we know enough to take action, and we shall be nimble and adapt as the situation changes. We will tailor our solutions to our unique social, economic and cultural conditions. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but I pledge to you that Government will do whatever is required, in our particular circumstances, to safeguard the lives of our people, and keep our economy going.

Discipline, self-discipline, is that strong bridge that all of us, from the safety of our homes, in our workplaces, and in our communities, must build. We need to build a strong bridge of self-discipline in order for us to cross over from this difficult period of restrictions and the spread of the Coronavirus to the other side, where total freedom to go about our normal lives awaits us. To defeat the virus, and get there, we have to accept that we have to wash our hands, maintain good hygiene, refrain from shaking hands, wear our masks, and practice social distancing in all of our engagements.

Fellow Ghanaians, we are confronting one of the greatest challenges of our generation. We have to win this battle. We have to defeat the virus. It is our behaviour and response that will determine that. I have every confidence that, collectively, we, Ghanaians, have it in us to rise to the occasion and become victorious. I am very grateful for the great support you have given my Government and I, as we steer our country out of this crisis. Continue in unity to provide that support. This, too, shall pass, for the Battle is the Lord’s.

Me da moa se paa, mon kɔ so ntie masɛm, na yɛn nyinaa ndi nkunim.

Min da nyɛ shi waa, nyɛ yaa nɔ ni yɛ boa nwiemɔ tuɛ, koni wɔ fɛɛ wɔ ye nkuni.

May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.

I thank you for your attention, and have a good night.

Address to the Nation by Prez Akufo-Addo, on updates to Ghana’s enhanced response to the covid19 pandemic

ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC,

NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO,

ON UPDATES TO GHANA’S ENHANCED RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, ON THURSDAY, 9TH APRIL, 2020.

Fellow Ghanaians, good evening.

Today is the sixth time I am coming into your homes since we begun our collective effort to combat the Coronavirus pandemic, and to implement measures aimed at containing and defeating it.

I have, first of all, to tell you how proud and privileged I am to be your President, not just to fight for you, but also to fight with you, and to help shepherd our country out of this crisis.

I said, in my last address, that Government’s policy in this entire drama will be largely driven by science. We will, as much as possible, be guided by the data, with our focus on the 3-Ts, i.e. tracing, testing and treatment. We now see that the decision to close down our borders has been justified. One hundred and five (105) of the confirmed cases came from those who were mandatorily quarantined and tested on their arrival on 21st and 22nd of March. One hundred and ninety-two (192) of the cases came from travelers, who entered our country before the closure, and their contacts. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the three hundred and seventy-eight (378) confirmed cases are, thus, imported. Clearly, until we have the situation fully under control, we cannot, at this time, open our borders. They will have to remain shut until further notice.

Further, the partial lockdown of Accra and Kumasi has facilitated a more aggressive programme of enhanced contact tracing, with a total of four hundred and fifty (450) teams.

Thirty-seven thousand, four hundred and five (37,405) samples have been taken, of which thirty-one thousand, nine hundred and thirty-three (31,933) are in Accra, and five thousand, four hundred and seventy-two (5,472) are in Kumasi. As at Wednesday, 8th April, a total of fourteen thousand, six hundred and eleven (14,611) contacts of the samples collected have been tested for the virus in Accra and Kumasi. For Accra, eleven thousand, three hundred and eight (11,308) contacts were tested, and fifty-two (52), i.e. zero point four six percent (0.46%), of them were found to be positive. In Kumasi, three thousand and three hundred and three (3,303) contacts have been tested, and twenty-five (25), i.e. zero point seven six percent (0.76%) have been found to be positive. In total, seventy-seven (77) positive cases were recorded in Accra and Kumasi, representing zero point five three percent (0.53%) of the fourteen thousand, six hundred and eleven (14,611) tested.

Whilst the results are encouraging, in suggesting a limited number of positives and community spread, we expect to be able to test some ten thousand (10,000) additional samples in the coming week to give us a clearer picture to enable us take a decision on the way forward.

It appears that our common efforts have been modestly successful in containing the virus and minimising its spread. Undoubtedly, the decisions taken from day one (1) to act quickly and decisively, and, impose what may have seemed like harsh restrictions, have now proven to be effective, and have saved a lot of lives.

However, this fight is not yet over, and we are by no means out of the woods yet. As I said, we now have, in total, three hundred and seventy-eight (378) confirmed cases of infections, with six (6) deaths, four (4) recoveries, two (2) in critical condition, and the remaining three hundred and seventy (370) are mild cases, who are in isolation, and are either being managed at home or at treatment centres.

Fellow Ghanaians, I have come to you this evening to ask for your continued patience, as we continue to implement and extend the efforts that have, so far, proven to be helpful. It is important that we stay the course, and bear with the difficulties that come with it. The final result, hopefully, will be freedom from the virus.

So, the decision has been taken, through the issuance of an Executive Instrument, to extend the restrictions on movement in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts by one more week, beginning 1am on Monday, 13th April, subject to review.

As part of measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the social and economic life of the country, I indicated, in my last speech, that Government will absorb water bills for all Ghanaians for the next three months, i.e. April, May and June. Furthermore, water tankers, publicly and privately-owned, are being mobilised to ensure the supply of water to vulnerable communities. We have decided on further measures of mitigation for all Ghanaians for the next three months, i.e. April, May and June. Government will fully absorb electricity bills for the poorest of the poor, i.e. for all lifeline consumers, that is free electricity for persons who consume zero (0) to fifty (50) kilowatt hours a month for this period. In addition, for all other consumers, residential and commercial, Government will absorb, again, fifty percent (50%) of your electricity bill for this period, using your March 2020 bill as your benchmark. For example, if your electricity bill was one hundred cedis (GH¢100), you will pay only GH¢50, with Government absorbing the remaining fifty cedis (GH¢50). This is being done to support industry, enterprises and the service sector in these difficult times, and to provide some relief to households for lost income. Nevertheless, I urge all Ghanaians to exercise discipline in their use of water and electricity.

The food items being distributed in Accra and Kumasi to the vulnerable and needy are being done through NADMO and the MMDCEs, with the assistance of the faith-based organisations, to whom I am rendering a special word of gratitude.

I appeal to you, let us, in the meantime, continue to comply with the measures, let us maintain good hygiene and respect the social distancing protocols, even when you are going out to receive the food. But, above all, please stay at home. There have been unfortunate incidents of some persons, in some parts of the affected areas, where the restrictions are in force, flouting the regulations and continuing with the business-as-usual attitude, even to the extent of confronting members of the security services. That should not be countenanced. The law must be upheld, and it will be. I take no delight in announcing these restrictions, however, let us all remember that they have been put in place for our collective good.

The fight against Coronavirus has served as a humbling reminder of the things that matter, the things that cannot be bought, and the things that, all too often, go unappreciated, as a result of the stress of daily life. I refer to the health of those we love; the freedom to work and to congregate; the luxury of spontaneity; and the simple comfort of a handshake or a hug. These are the blessings of normalcy that we are fighting to restore, blessings that we must hold onto with a deeper sense of appreciation, once this pandemic has passed.

I express, on all our behalves, our gratitude for the assistance given to us by the Governments of the People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, the African Union, the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Union, and the Jack Ma Foundation. We appreciate their expression of solidarity. A friend in need is a friend indeed. I thank also all those who have made donations and contributions into the COVID-19 National Trust Fund for this kind gesture.

Fellow Ghanaians, today is Maundy Thursday, and tomorrow, a few hours from now, Friday, 10th April, Good Friday, is the start of Easter, which, for us Christians, commemorates the unique sacrifice that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, made for our salvation on the cross of Calvary. The season is a good opportunity for all of us to reflect on that ultimate sacrifice, and for each one of us also to make a sacrifice for the sake of humanity’s survival.

We are used to attending Easter Conventions, making-merry, visiting friends and family, and having a good time. Yes, like a lot of you, I was also looking forward to visiting Kwahu during this time of the year, which I have been doing for several years. However, I am urging all of us to do the exact opposite of what we have been used to for many years. Stay at home. I ask you to keep your distance from your parents, grandparents and extended family, and celebrate this holiday apart. Do not host a big family gathering, and sternly refuse to attend one if you are invited. Your relatives will understand you are doing this out of love for them. Please, make that sacrifice.

Mesrɛ mo, asɛm aa makai, mondi su. Me ma mo afehyia pa

Min kpa nyɛ fai, nibii ni nkɛ, nyɛ ye nɔ. Afi oo afi.

So, on behalf of my beautiful Rebecca, my children, grandchildren and entire family, and members of Government, I wish you all a joyous and happy Easter, even if a restrained one. And, let me extend a special Easter goodwill message to our amazing health workers and to the members of our security agencies for their patriotic efforts.

May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.

Have a good evening, enjoy the holidays, and I thank you for your attention.

An open letter to the President Akufo-Addo by Association of Conscientious Public Sector Contractors.

The menace of COVID-19 has brought hardship to the world over and governments are putting measures in place to mitigate the impact on their citizenry. We observe with much admiration, the difficult, yet necessary effort yourself and your administration are making at minimizing the impact on the Ghanaian lives and economy. To quote your now worldwide acclaimed quotation ” We know how to bring back the economy, what we don’t know is how to bring back lives”. Indeed lives are at stake and your leadership on this matter must be commended. We believe with our collective effort, Ghana will emerge stronger on the other side.

Mr. President, we are greatly elated about the stimulus funds set aside to support small businesses. We are appealing directly to you to consider as a matter of expediency, paying off the remaining arrears of contractors. Some of our members have unpaid claims at GETFUND dating back two years. Payment will enable us pay our staff, our suppliers and even pay our statutory obligations. Apart from the multiplier and stimulative effect of such action, it will also help our members give a helping hand to the needy and vulnerable in our communities. It is no secret that contractors, like other businessmen, are called upon by members of our communities to support the unfortunate ones all the time. These times have made such requests much more frequent and urgent.

Please consider coming to our aid. It will alleviate our harrowing plight and afford us the opportunity to also play our part.

We are counting on your fatherly providence.

May God bless you and May God bless our homeland Ghana.

Signed:
Bernard Azumah
(Chairman)

PS:
The following could be contacted for interviews or clarifications :
-1) Mr Richard Nyarko: 0205123444 or 0508457710

-2) Mr. Frank Agbeve: 0249862669 or 0208160424

-3) Steve Aidam: 0244326171 or 0504301856

-4) Bernard Azumah : 0244615244

“We appreciate you very much” – President Akufo-Addo to health workers

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has extended the appreciation of the nation to all health workers across the country for the continued sacrifices they are making in caring for those infected with the Coronavirus, and in caring for the sick in general.

Speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the Ghana Medical Association, on Tuesday, 7th April, 2020, at Jubilee House, the President stated that the purpose of the meeting was “to let you know that I appreciate, and the country appreciates very much, the work that you are doing, and to encourage you that, at this stage more than at any time in your professional career, you will really be standing up for the people of Ghana in everything that you do.”

In the presence of the President of the Association, Dr. Frank Ankobea, the President acknowledged that, after 63 years of Ghana’s independence, the country has not done well in making readily available all the facilities required for the health workers to function.

He, nonetheless, assured that “on my part and on the part of government, we will continue to see what we can do to meet you halfway, ease the issues that you have. I think you heard my broadcast the other day, I indicated the measures that we want to put in place to support you in the work that you are doing.”

Outlining some of interventions being made to support and motivate health workers during this crisis, President Akufo-Addo stated that “buses for nurses and health workers have started plying the streets of Accra, the allowances that are going to be paid to health workers are being worked out by the Finance Minister, and, very soon, in the course of this month the first payments are going to be made.”

He continued, “the daily allowances that are going to contact traces and all; all of those things are being done. But, above all, in crises of this nature, it is our spirit, our morale, our commitment, to our country, to our society, that will determine the success or otherwise of our ability to confront this menace.”

On the definition of who which group constituted “Frontline Health Workers”, President Akufo-Addo stated that “effort is being made on the part of government, to arrive at an acceptable definition, and I think your input will be very necessary and required, so that we get a definition that makes sense for everybody and which addresses the issue of people who are also in the frontline, as it were, of dealing with this disease.”

Just in: President Akufo-Addo makes deputy ministerial reshuffle

In a statement from the communication directorate, jubilee house, Accra, signed by Mr Eugene Arhin, director of communications at the Presidency, the President of the republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made some changes in his government.

Below is the official statement:

Covid19: “President Akufo-Addo’s speech full of hope” – Anyidoho praises Akufo-Addo

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Atta-Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho, has showered praises on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his sterling leadership, powerful addresses to the nation in the midst of the deadly coronavirus.

The former director of communication at the presidency under the late Mills era said the messages and speeches by the president inspired hope.

Making specific reference to the fifth address by the president on outbreak, Mr. Anyidoho said the speech contained all the necessary ingredients of the principles of crisis communication.

“Good speech; as someone who used to write President Atta-Mills’ speeches, I would have written a similar speech because it has all the necessary ingredients of the principles of Crisis Communication.”

He admonished Ghanaians to rally behind the president in fighting the deadly virus since it has no political colour.

He described the outbreak as an enemy that must be defeated through a collective approach.

He further admonished Ghanaians to adhere strictly to the safety measures, stay at home to contain the spread of the virus.

President Akufo-Addo has called on Ghanaians to support him to ensure that the scourge of this virus becomes nothing but a temporary blip on the fortunes of our nation, and we will go on to realise the vision and aspirations of our forebears, who envisioned Ghana to be a free, democratic, prosperous nation, the beacon of freedom and justice, the Black Star of Africa, the harbinger of a new black civilisation in which the dignity and prosperity of black people everywhere are assured.

Source: rainbowradioonline.com

“At least we’ve got a president who’s thinking outside the box in these unusual times” – NDC’s Dela Coffie

Folks, if you ignore the noise and pay attention to basic details, President Akufo-Addo is turning out to be one of the best Presidents in recent history. His social mitigating measures for the COVID-19 crisis announced a while ago is far-reaching and very impressive:

☑Tax free income for three months plus 50percent increase in basic salary for frontline workers.

☑Government is going to make available GHC600 million soft loan scheme with a 6-months morotorium period and 2-year repayment plan for micro, small & medium scale businesses.

☑Government will absorb the water bills for all Ghanaians for the next three months, i.e. April, May and June. All water tankers, publicly and privately-owned, are also going to be mobilised to ensure the supply of water to all vulnerable communities.

☑The Ghana Water Company Ltd and the Electricity Company of Ghana have been directed to ensure the stable supply of water and electricity during this period.

☑ There will be no disconnection of water and electricity supply during this period.

☑Free Transport for all health workers .

At least we’ve got a president who’s thinking outside the box in these unusual times.

Stay safe folks!!!

Address To The Nation By President Akufo-Addo On Updates To Ghana’s Enhanced Response To The Coronavirus Pandemic. In case you missed it

Fellow Ghanaians, Good evening.

Nine (9) days ago, I came to your homes and requested you to make great sacrifices to save lives, and to protect our motherland. I announced the imposition of strict restrictions to movement, and asked that residents of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts to stay at home for two (2) weeks, in order to give us the opportunity to stave off this pandemic. As a result, residents of these two areas had to make significant adjustments to our way of life, with the ultimate goal being to protect permanently our continued existence on this land.

They heeded the call, and they have proven, so far, to each other, and, indeed, to the entire world, that being a Ghanaian means we look out for each other. Yes, there are a few who continue to find ways to be recalcitrant, but the greater majority have complied, and have done so with calm and dignity. Tonight, I say thank you to each and every one of you law-abiding citizens.

Let me thank, in particular, all our frontline actors who continue to put their lives on the line to help ensure that we defeat the virus. To our healthcare workers, I say a big ayekoo for the continued sacrifices you are making in caring for those infected with the virus, and in caring for the sick in general. You are the heroes and heroines of our generation, and Government will do all in its power to provide you with the relevant tools to do your work effectively. To the men and women of our security services, who have been enforcing the directives, by patrolling our streets day and night, conducting surveillance, snap checks and mounting road blocks, we are deeply in your debt. It is these security measures that have created the basic framework within which our medical personnel are able to pursue contact tracing, testing and treatment of persons with the virus, whose implementation offers us the most secure means to defeat the virus.
Reports I have received so far indicate that the police, military and other members of our security services have discharged their mandate with considerable professionalism. Furthermore, working with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, we see personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces involved in the clean-up of our drainage systems and of our markets.

In the very few instances where members of our security agencies have employed the use of excessive force against the citizenry, in enforcing the restrictions on movement, the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces have taken steps to investigate such incidents, and, they have given me the assurance that, those found culpable, will be duly sanctioned. Thus far, the alleged wrongdoers have been withdrawn from the ongoing exercise. To enhance command and control, more senior officers have been deployed at the operational level, and each member of our security services participating in the exercise has been handed an aide-mémoire highlighting, essentially, the guidelines for the operation.

However, I am extremely disturbed by the actions of a few, unpatriotic persons, who are deliberately passing off and circulating old videos of alleged brutality by members of the security agencies, largely of foreign origin, and presenting them as though they were new incidents by Ghanaian security personnel, which have occurred during the course of this past week. It is sad, it is unfortunate, and it must end. We should all be in this fight together, and there is nothing to be gained with widespread fabrication and distribution of such videos, whose sole aim is to create discontent, and undermine the trust of the population in the men and women of our security services. Who gains from such conduct? Nobody in their right senses! The law enforcement agencies are determined to locate the originators of these anti-social acts.
Fellow Ghanaians, as I have said before, all that Government is doing is intended to achieve five (5) key objectives – limit and stop the importation of the virus; contain its spread; provide adequate care for the sick; limit the impact of the virus on social and economic life; and inspire the expansion of our domestic capability and deepen our self-reliance.

As at today, Sunday, 5th April, 2020, our current situation is such that we have recorded a total of two hundred and fourteen (214) cases. The Greater Accra Region has one hundred and eighty-nine (189) cases, followed by the Ashanti Region with twelve (12), Northern Region ten (10), Upper West Region one (1), Eastern Region one (1), and Upper East Region one (1). The ten from the Northern Region are the West African nationals who entered our country illegally, after the closure of the borders. In total, three (3) persons have fully recovered from the disease, forty-nine (49) persons have been discharged from treatment facilities, and are being managed from home; and the remaining one hundred and fifty-five (155) are responding to treatment. Two (2) persons are moderately ill, and five (5) persons, as I said before, have lost their lives.

Of the one thousand and thirty (1,030) travellers, who were mandatorily quarantined and tested on their arrival in Ghana on the 21st and 22nd of March, seventy-nine (79) were initially found to be positive, and appropriate arrangements were made for their isolation and treatment. Subsequently, after twelve (12) further days of quarantine, twenty-six (26) other persons were found to be positive as a result of their second test, bringing the total number of those found to be positive to one hundred and five (105), all of whom have been isolated for treatment. Of the remaining nine hundred and twenty-five (925) persons, who have undergone two tests and found to be negative, eight hundred and four (804) have been released from quarantine to join their families. The remaining one hundred and twenty-one (121) are, as I speak, in the process of being released. I want to thank all of them and their families and loved ones for their understanding and co-operation with the stringent procedures that Government was forced to deploy in the public interest.
Efforts also at contact tracing have been ramped up over the course of the past week. Indeed, for every confirmed case of COVID-19, all the contacts have been listed, monitored and tracked. Additionally, in the home or place of work of a confirmed case, all persons, be they at home or at work, have been tested, whether they had symptoms or not. Within the locality or neighbourhood of a confirmed case, the opportunity is also being provided for persons to undergo voluntary testing to ascertain the extent of community spread.

We are, thus, about to enter a critical phase of our fight in the coming week, as the Ghana Health Service is due to receive the results of some fifteen thousand, three hundred and eighty-four (15,384) out of nineteen thousand, two hundred and seventy-six (19,276) persons who have been reached through contact tracing. It is the results of these tests that will determine our future course of action. Government’s policy and measures will continue to be driven by the science in this matter. The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are now partnering government in the struggle. I met with their representatives on Friday, and arranged with them a mechanism for the realisation of this partnership. The nation and I appreciate their involvement.

So, in the course of the coming week, a determination will be made as to whether or not to extend the duration of the two-week restriction on movement, and the implementation or otherwise of any more enhanced measures to deal with the virus. I have, however, by Executive Instrument, extended the closure of our borders for two (2) more weeks, until further notice. The data tells us that the overwhelming majority of confirmed cases came from travellers or from people who have come into contact with travellers.

Fellow Ghanaians, tonight, I stand before you to ask for your continued patience, support, vigilance and adherence to the measures. Let each one of us play his or her part to enhance our collective efforts at containing the spread of the virus, which will enable us to hasten the lifting of these restrictions, and returning the nation to normalcy.

I was encouraged by the appreciation of Government’s handling of the pandemic, and the offer of support by the leadership of the major political parties in the country, whom I met on Friday. I applaud Parliament’s decision to call off its planned recess, and be on standby to aid in the fight against the virus. I thank staff of the University of Ghana’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, and the National Public Health Reference Laboratory of the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital for the solid work they are doing for Mother Ghana.

I am very grateful to the individuals and institutions, who have responded to my appeal for donations to be made into the COVID-19 National Trust Fund, which has been established to complement Government’s fight against the virus, and to assist in the welfare of the needy and the vulnerable. A total amount of some eight million, seven hundred and fifty thousand cedis (GH¢8.75 million), which includes six hundred thousand United States dollars (US$600,000), has been received so far for this purpose. I am happy that so many appointees of my government have also followed my example by donating their salaries to the Fund.

We are in difficult times, and that is why I directed the Minister for Finance to send to Parliament the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP), whose objective is to protect households and livelihoods, support micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, minimise job losses, and source additional funding for promotion of industries to shore up and expand industrial output for domestic consumption and exports.

Through this Programme, the Ministries of Gender, Children and Social Protection and Local Government and Rural Development, and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), working with MMDCEs and the faith-based organisations, have begun to provide food for up to four hundred thousand (400,000) individuals and homes in the affected areas of the restrictions. This begun in Accra today, and will begin in Kumasi tomorrow. It will come in the form of dry food packages and hot meals, and will be delivered to vulnerable communities in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa.

Again, the Ghana Water Company Ltd and the Electricity Company of Ghana have been directed to ensure the stable supply of water and electricity during this period. In addition, there will be no disconnection of supply. Furthermore, Government will absorb the water bills for all Ghanaians for the next three months, i.e. April, May and June. All water tankers, publicly and privately-owned, are also going to be mobilised to ensure the supply of water to all vulnerable communities.

Government, in collaboration with the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Business & Trade Associations and selected Commercial and Rural Banks, will roll out a soft loan scheme up to a total of six hundred million cedis (GH¢600 million), which will have a one-year moratorium and two-year repayment period for micro, small and medium scale businesses.

Fellow Ghanaians, it is vital that we protect the lives of our frontline health workers, who are risking their lives every day to battle this virus. That is why Government is placing a high priority on the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for them. Thus far, three hundred and fifty thousand (350,000) masks, five hundred and fifty eight thousand, six hundred and fifty (558,650) examination gloves, one thousand (1,000) reusable goggles, twenty thousand (20,000) cover-alls, seven thousand (7,000) N-95 respirators, five hundred (500) waterproof gumboots, two thousand (2,000) reusable face shields, two thousand (2,000) gallons of hand sanitizers, ten thousand (10,000) 100ml pieces of hand sanitizers, and five hundred (500) shoe covers have been sent to the regional health directorates, for onward distribution to the district health directorates for use by our health workers in all the districts. The Minister for Health is ensuring that they reach the health workers. This, notwithstanding, Government is aware that more needs to be done, especially in the face of the global shortage of PPEs.

It is for this reason that Government is actively engaged with local manufacturing companies to assist them in the domestic production of PPEs., and I am encouraged by the response from the Ghanaian private sector. Domestic production of face masks, head covers, surgical scrubs and gowns will commence from Tuesday. For example, three million, six hundred thousand face masks will be produced domestically, with an output of one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) per day. I am equally impressed with the invention of a solar-powered handwashing sink by Jude Osei from Kumasi, and the ‘COVID-19 prevention electronic bucket’ made by Kelvin Owusu Dapaah and Richard Boateng, both students of Obuasi Senior High and Technical School. Necessity, indeed, is the mother of invention, as the Ghanaian sense of enterprise and innovation is beginning to be felt.

An insurance package, with an assured sum of three hundred and fifty thousand cedis (GH¢350,000) for each health personnel and allied professional at the forefront of the fight, has been put in place, with a daily allowance of one hundred and fifty cedis (GH¢150) being paid to contact tracers. Government has also decided that all health workers will not pay taxes on their emoluments for the next three months, i.e. April, May and June. Furthermore, all frontline health workers will receive an additional allowance of fifty percent (50%) of their basic salary per month, i.e. for March, April, May and June. The March allowance will be paid alongside that of April. The Ministry of Transport is also making available, for free, ‘Aayalolo’ buses to convey health workers in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa to and from work, along specific routes, for the entire duration of the restrictions.
I am happy that operators of public transport, such as trotros and taxis, are largely adhering to the admonition to observe social distancing in their vehicles. Each one of them should do so.

Towards ensuring the cleanliness of our country, especially in the Greater Accra and the Greater Kumasi areas, which are currently the subjects of the restrictions, the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, together with some four hundred (400) personnel drawn from the Police, Military, Fire Service and Prisons Service, from Friday, 3rd April, to today, Sunday, 5th April, have embarked on desilting our gutters, collection and disposal of garbage from homes, public places, markets and vehicle terminals. We must ensure that the end of this exercise will lead to a new attitude towards cleanliness in our surroundings. That would be a positive legacy from this crisis. MMDAs outside the areas affected by the restrictions have been directed to emulate this clean-up exercise.

As at Saturday, 4th April, 2020, markets and lorry terminals in thirteen (13) regions have been cleaned and sprayed, with the three (3) other regions set to follow in the coming few days. We have had to take the extra step of closing a few markets in Accra and Kumasi, where traders and market women had flouted the rules for social distancing. Some districts have also embraced the policy of alternate-days-for-alternative-products, in a bid to decongest the markets and ensure social-distancing.

I am fully aware of the disruptions to your lives occasioned by these measures. Your personal movements, way of life, the education of your children, your livelihoods have all been disturbed by this virus. But, believe me, the measures are necessary if we are to free ourselves permanently of this pestilence.

So, fellow Ghanaians, I will continue, passionately, to appeal to you to observe prescribed social distancing and good personal hygiene to contain community spread. These enhanced hygiene protocols must become a part of our everyday lives. We must not abandon them. And, remember, that the law enforcement agencies are going to increase their enforcement of the stay-at-home directive. Do not leave your homes other than for the essential, stipulated reasons. The cynics question our capacity for the maintenance of discipline in this period, and in its aftermath; however, I am confident that we will prove them wrong. Ghanaians always rise up to the occasion, and we will do so again. United, we are going to win this battle.

I am privileged to be speaking to you on a sacred day of the Christian calendar, Palm Sunday, which ushers in the Holy Wseek to commemorate the passion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let His example unite all of us, Christians, Muslims, all Ghanaians, in our care for each other, and in our resolve to overcome this challenge. This, too, shall pass!

Together, let us ensure that the scourge of this virus becomes nothing but a temporary blip on the fortunes of our nation, and we will go on to realise the vision and aspirations of our forebears, who envisioned Ghana to be a free, democratic, prosperous nation, the beacon of freedom and justice, the Black Star of Africa, the harbinger of a new black civilisation in which the dignity and prosperity of black people everywhere are assured.

May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.

I thank you for your attention.

Covid19: Prez Akufo-Addo to address the nation this evening

The President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will this evening address the nation and give update on the fight against novel covid19 pandemic and things the government has put in place in fighting the disease.

The President on Friday 27th March 2020 announced a partial lockdown which affected major parts of Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi. The President announced the partial lockdown on Friday night which is to last for fourteen days.

According to the President, it is subjected to constant review whenever the need arise.

Some exemption were made by the President but it seems some Ghanaians have gone overboard to the directives of the president, so some Ghanaians are anticipating that the restrictions may be extended.

Yesterday, the President extended the closure of all borders to the country for another two weeks and by so, some Ghanaians are anticipating the lockdown may also be extended.

It was two regions that the virus was detected, thus, Greater Accra and Ashanti Region respectively, but as it stands, we have recorded additional three Regions from which virus has affected some people, and with this that the lockdown may be extended and possibly, countrywide, with strict measures to make sure everyone complies to curb the spread of the virus.

The President is expected to address the nation around 21:00GMT this evening.

Ghana has 214 confirmed covid19 cases now.

Editorial: Alleged soldier brutalities of civilians in the lockdown; the case of Paul Kagame’s Leadership to Ghana

Really interesting to see how folks are aghast at the alleged soldier brutalities of civilians in the lockdown. So next time when you sit on social media and compare Paul Kagame’s style of leadership to Ghana, just remember what some Rwandese are going through under his regime. Until the stench gets closer to your doorstep, from afar, you may think it’s a perfume.

That said, #StayAtHome and don’t give yourself to any irritant to set an example of you. Stay Home and avoid adding up to an already challenged healthcare system with fewer medical practitioners, some of whom we are told came into contact with affected persons of the virus and are in quarantined.

Don’t be selfish by going out when you have no business doing so; think about the doctor, the nurse, the already stressed supporting staff of these caregivers and stay home. Remember they have families too and deserve to see them, but that is not happening cos they have to be on their feet and make sure lives are saved for families. Why can’t you stay home a

Summary of the Restrictions Imposed on Selected Areas in Ghana by Government for 2weeks.

1.President Akufo-Addo has announced that effective Monday, 30th March, 2020 at 1 am under the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012), there will be restrictions on movement of persons in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA, which include Awutu Senya East ), and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts, for a period of two (2) weeks or 14 days subject to review.

2.In Greater Accra, the following areas will be affected:
– Accra Metropolis
-Tema Metropolis
-Tema West
-Kpone Katamanso
-Krowor
-Ledzokuku
-Adentan
– Ashiaman
La-Nkwantanang-Madina
-La-Dade-Kotopon
-Okaikwei North
-Ablekuma North
-Ablekuma West
-Ablekuma Central
-Ayawaso East
-Ayawaso North
-Ayawaso West
-Ayawaso Central
-Ga North
-Ga West
-Ga South
-Ga Central
Ga East
-Korle-Klottey
-Weija/Gbawe
-Awutu Senya East

3.In the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area the following areas are affected:
*Kumasi Metropolis;
*Asokwa
* Suame
*Old Tafo
*Oforikrom
*Asokore Mampong
*Kwadaso
*Atwima Nwabiagya
*Kwabre East
*Ejisu
*Afigya-Kwabre South
*Bosomtwe
*Atwima Kwanwoma
*Atwima Nwabiagya North

4.This means that everyone resident in these areas must stay at home for the next two weeks or 14 days, However, if you must go out, it must only be to get essential items such as food, water, medicine, undertake banking transactions, or to use public toilet facilities. But, as much as possible, stay at, h.ome.

5.There shal l be, during this period, no inter-city movement of vehicles and aircraft for private or commercial purposes for the areas of the restrictive measures, except for vehicles and aircrafts providing essential services and those carrying cargo.

6.-Riders of motorbikes are not allowed to carry any additional person, and all intra-city passenger vehicles, such as trotros and taxis, must reduce the number of passengers in order to observe appropriate social distancing and hygiene protocols.

7. All commercial vehicle stations shall observe appropriate hygiene protocols and social distancing.

8.Individuals and institutions providing the following services shall be exempted from the restrictions:
-Members of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary;
-Production, distribution and marketing of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medicine, paper and plastic packages.
-Environmental and sanitation activities;
-VALCO staff
-Road and Railway
construction workers;
-Mining workers;
-Fisherfolk;
-Members of the security agencies assigned lawful duties;
-The staff of electricity, water, telecommunications, e-commerce and digital service providers; and
-Fuel stations staff.

No lockdown for now, discussion ongoing – Akufo-Addo tells TUC over Covid19 spread

President Akufo-Addo says government is not considering a lockdown currently because of the implications it will have on many people.

According to him, although the country is recording more coronavirus cases, government is still monitoring the situation and will implement decisions that are in the best interest of all.

“Now people are talking about a lockdown in Ghana and this and that but we should know that the majority of people will be affected. The ordinary Ghanaians are the ones that will be most affected and it is important for us who have to take this decision to take into account, their circumstances and conditions.

“If you lockdown Accra, what are the consequences? If we lockdown the country, what are the consequences? A responsible government is required to look at all this before decisions are made and that is the exercise on which we are currently engaged.

“I am hopeful that sooner than later, we will come to an agreement within government on the way forward and the Ghanaian people will be informed. But I want to assure you that the matters you have put on the table are matters we are actively deliberating on,” President Akufo-Addo said.

Addressing leaders of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) led by General Secretary Dr. Yaw Baah at the Jubilee House, President Akufo-Addo said he was optimistic current measures put in place by government will help curb further spread of the virus.

“I have indicated to the country that the main objectives of our policies and responses which includes limiting importation. We are trying to take control of the spread of the virus by making provision to strengthen our capacity to care for those who are sick, limiting as much as possible the impact on our social and economic lives and then also, trying to find a way to use this crisis as an opportunity to strengthen our nation.

“We have seen how dependent we are on foreign import for our medicines and that shouldn’t be the case. But now we are finding the capacity to produce things for ourselves,” he concluded.

Since Ghana recorded 68 Covid-19 cases, there has been pressure on government to announce a lockdown with immediate effect.

The Ghana Medical Association and the Trade Union Congress say such a directive will help contain the spread of the virus and prevent fear and panic.

This has led to a heated debate on social media, with another school of thought arguing that a lockdown will kill more people than the virus since appropriate measures and structures have not been put in place.

But with the country recording 132 cases, the Trade Union Congress is still urging President Akufo-Addo to consider a more aggressive approach to the fight against the coronavirus.

Source: myjoyonline.com