We'll together oust COVID-19: political parties pledge
Six political parties have pledged their support to the government’s efforts at dealing decisively with the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
They have also commended the government for the moves taken so far to check the spread of the virus and called for all hands on deck to defeat the pandemic, which is ravaging the world.
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The political parties are the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the National Democratic Party (NDP).
They gave the pledge when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo met representatives of political parties at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday to brainstorm on how to successfully battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
NDC agrees with President
The National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, who led his party’s team to the meeting, noted: “We could not agree with you [President] more that the pandemic has no political colouration, and that as a nation we should come together and put our shoulders to the wheel to assist efforts the government is making to fight and defeat the pandemic.”
He said God had blessed the country with all the necessary human and material resources to be able to work together in these trying times to defeat the pandemic.
He said the NDC’s technical team on the COVID-19 had developed a paper on the pandemic and would present a copy to the President.
He indicated that the paper contained suggestions on interventions that would help, as the President had already started to address the urgent challenges facing the country.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo appealed to President Akufo-Addo to grant amnesty to some radio stations that were closed down last year, just as he had done to some prisoners.
NPP impressed
At the head of the NPP team was its National Chairman, Mr Freddie Blay, who said the NPP was solidly behind the efforts of the President, which had attracted global attention and praise.
He said Ghana was lucky to have Nana Akufo-Addo as President in these trying times and urged the political parties to rally behind the President and the government to lessen the burden that the virus would place on Ghana.
PPP urges compassion
The 2016 presidential running mate of the PPP, Ms Brigitte Dzogbenuku, who led his party’s delegation to the meeting, commended the President for the steps he had taken so far in combating the disease, including the restrictions on the movement of people in some parts of the country.
She disclosed that the Founder of the PPP, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, had seven ambulances that would be made available to the government to help in the efforts at fighting the disease and urged people in other political parties to “take off their competitive blinders and put on our compassionate lenses”.
She said currently it was compassion that was required, especially for people in the slums and on the streets, not the posture of competition, with some political parties claiming that they would have done it better.
Edward Mahama on PNC’s position
The 2016 presidential candidate of the PNC, Dr Edward Mahama, praised the President for his decisiveness in moving the country in the midst of the pandemic.
He said the establishment of the COVID-19 Management Team was a testament to President Akufo-Addo’s quest to lead the nation to win the fight against the virus.
Dr Mahama, currently Ghana’s Ambassador-at-large, called for the distribution of more personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline staff in the fight against the disease.
He also called for measures to ensure that hospital orderlies, including cleaners, were not hindered by the security agencies when the orderlies were on their way to the hospitals.
He said the fight against the COVID-19 should not take all the attention of the health system, at the expense of other ailments, such as heart attacks and strokes, and noted that currently people with common headache were afraid to go to hospital because the facilities were preoccupied with the COVID-19.
NDP wants unity
While commending President Akufo-Addo for the timely and purposeful moves he had made so far on the disease, the Founder and Leader of the NDP, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, said the political parties should also take it upon themselves to reduce the scare that was spreading through the people.
She called for a second look to be taken at areas where the security agencies clashed with some citizens.
In addition, she called for the intensification of education for both the security agencies and the public for the smooth execution of the restriction on movement measures.
She urged metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to ensure that market women embraced sanitation before, during and after entering the markets.
CPP on decisive decisions
Leading the CPP was its 2020 presidential candidate, Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, who told the President: “Your decisions have been decisive, resolute and important.”
He cited the decision of the government to quarantine those who came to Ghana from other countries by air as a positive move.
He disclosed that his son was one of those who were quarantined, and pointed out that although he (the son) had tested negative, he was still kept under quarantine for 14 days, a move which he (Greenstreet) described as very good.
Mr Greenstreet said it was important that Ghanaians obeyed the directives of the government because if the virus was not dealt with, the country could not move on with its normal life.
President’s response
In his opening remarks, President Akufo-Addo had said he called the meeting for the exchange of information and to agree on measures to be taken because of the critical moment in which the nation found itself.
He said it was also to ensure the unity of the country and stressed the need for solidarity among the parties because the pandemic did not know political colour.
He urged community and political leaders to collectively find ways to arrest and defeat the pandemic.
Responding to the comments by the parties, the President welcomed the various perspectives presented and said Dr Nduom’s ambulances would be used.
On amnesty for radio stations, President Akufo-Addo said the law was clear on the procedures for dealing with radio stations that had been closed down, adding that he was surprised that those radio stations should wait for a Presidential pardon after a year of closure.
