The Ahanta West Municipal Assembly organized a capacity building workshop for the HON. Assembly Member to help equip them discharge their duties effectively and efficiently.
In the wake of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country in March 2020, H. E. the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo directed the Ministry’ of Local Government and Rural Development to coordinate with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to enhance hygiene in markets, lorry parks, and other public places across the country in order to contain the spread of the virus.
Following the directive, a number of activities were initiated including the disinfection (markets, lorry parks and public places), public education and sensitisation of market women on COVID-19 between March and April, 2020.
The second-phase of the disinfection, fumigation and cleaning of markets, lorry parks, public toilets and public places would come off throughout the sixteen (16) regions across the country.
Ahanta West Municipal Assembly held its First Ordinary General Assembly Meeting on the 16th July, 2020.
Sankor Senior High School is a Community Day School located at Sankor in the Ahanta West Municipality.
As part of their CSR, Tullow Ghana has donated Dormitories for the students including a Teachers Bungalows for the House Masters of the school.
Sod cutting Ceremony for the Construction of Regional Accident Centre at Apemenin in the Ahanta West Municipality Comes off on Thursday, 2nd July, 2020. The project is being financed by Coastal Development Authority under the One Million Dollars per constituency initiative.
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, 10th May, 2020.
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.
Fellow Ghanaians, good evening. I have come to your homes, once again, as promised, on the matter which continues to grip not only the attention of the nation, but also of the entire world – the Coronavirus pandemic.
At the time of my last broadcast, some six (6) days ago, Ghana had recorded twenty-one (21) confirmed cases of infections, with virtually all the cases being imported. I took the step to close all our borders, and I ordered a mandatory quarantine and testing of all the one thousand and thirty (1,030) persons who arrived at the airport at the time of the announcement till the day the borders were closed. Indeed, seventy-eight (78) of the persons put under quarantine have since tested positive for the virus. It is these additional confirmations that have increased dramatically our total number of cases to one hundred and thirty-seven (137). Indeed, 97% of all confirmed cases are travelers who brought the disease from outside our shores. Of the remaining fifty-nine (59) confirmed cases, fifty-three (53) are receiving treatment and are doing well, and they will be discharged should their second test results prove negative. Fourteen (14) of them are being managed at home in self-isolation. Four (4) persons, who had tested positive for the virus, but were aged and had other serious, underlying medical conditions, have lost their lives. May their souls rest in perfect peace. Thankfully, two (2) persons have made full recoveries.
Fellow Ghanaians, the oath of office I swore on 7th January, 2017 demands that I dedicate myself to the service and well-being of you, the Ghanaian people. It is my job to protect you, and I am determined to do just that.
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.
Thus far, we have succeeded in halting any more importations of the virus into our country, and I thank the overwhelming majority of you for adhering to the good hygiene and social distancing protocols announced in my first broadcast to you.
However, prevailing circumstances mean that stricter measures have to be put in place to contain and halt the spread of the virus within our country, especially in Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi, which have been identified by the Ghana Health Service as the “hotspots” of the infections. In doing this, we cannot afford to copy blindly, and do all the things some other well-developed countries are doing. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to this pandemic. We have a unique situation in our country, and we must take it into account in dealing with the disease, whilst meeting all the six (6) key WHO guidelines on the most effective ways of combating the pandemic. Even though it may be said that the number of our infections is still, relatively, low, if we act now purposefully, we have a chance of preventing an escalation of our numbers.
So, effective 1am on Monday, 30th March, some forty-eight hours from now, I have imposed, pursuant to the powers granted the President of the Republic, under the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012), restrictions on movement of persons in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA, which includes Awutu Senya East), and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts, for a period of two (2) weeks, subject to review. It will give us the opportunity to try to halt the spread of the virus, and scale-up effectively contact tracing of persons who have come into contact with infected persons, test them for the virus, and, if necessary, quarantine and isolate them for treatment, should they prove to have the virus.
In Greater Accra, the following areas will be affected:
1. Accra Metropolis;
2. Tema Metropolis;
3. Tema West Municipality;
4. Ledzokuku Municipality;
5. Krowor Municipality;
6. Adentan Municipality;
7. Ashiaman Municipality;
8. La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipality;
9. La-Dade-Kotopon Municipality;
10. Okaikwei North Municipality;
11. Ablekuma North Municipality;
12. Ablekuma West Municipality;
13. Ablekuma Central Municipality;
14. Ayawaso East Municipality;
15. Ayawaso North Municipality;
16. Ayawaso West Municipality;
17. Ayawaso Central Municipality
18. Ga West Municipality;
19. Ga North Municipality;
20. Ga Central Municipality;
21. Ga South Municipality;
22. Ga East Municipality;
23. Korle-Klottey Municipality;
24. Weija/Gbawe Municipality;
25. Kpone Katamanso Municipality; and
26. Awutu Senya East Municipality.
In the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts, the following areas are affected:
1. Kumasi Metropolis;
2. Asokwa Municipality;
3. Suame Municipality;
4. Old Tafo Municipality;
5. Oforikrom Municipality;
6. Asokore Mampong Municipality;
7. Kwadaso Municipality;
8. Atwima Nwabiagya Municipality;
9. Kwabre East Municipality;
10. Ejisu Municipality;
11. Afigya-Kwabre South District;
12. Bosomtwi District;
13. Atwima Kwanwoma District; and
14. Atwima Nwabiagya North District.
This, in essence, means that everyone resident in these areas must stay at home for the next two weeks. However, if you must go out, it must only be to get essential items such as food, medicine, water, undertake banking transactions, or to use public toilet facilities. But, as much as possible, stay at home.
There shall be, during this period, no inter-city movement of vehicles and aircrafts for private or commercial purposes for the areas of the restrictive measures, except for vehicles and aircrafts providing essential services and those carrying cargo. 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. Additionally, all commercial vehicle stations shall observe appropriate hygiene protocols and social distancing. The Ministry of Transport has engaged the transport operators and unions in this regard. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has also engaged with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and the leaders of the market associations in the country to make satisfactory arrangements about the operation of the markets that ensure observance of social distancing and enhanced hygiene protocols. In any event, only persons involved in the food value chain can operate in the markets during this period.
Individuals and institutions providing the following services shall be exempted from the restrictions:
i Members of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary;
ii production, distribution and marketing of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medicine, paper and plastic packages;
iii environmental and sanitation activities;
iv staff of VALCO;
v road and railway construction workers;
vi mining workers;
vii fisherfolk;
viii members of the security agencies assigned lawful duties;
ix staff of electricity, water, telecommunications, e-commerce and digital service providers; and
x staff of fuel stations.
Fellow Ghanaians, to accelerate the contact tracing process, and ensure we curtail the spread of the virus in the shortest time, we will use the military and police to assist health authorities to expediate the process. We will also pursue a policy of testing ALL CONTACTS of people tested positive.
The affected areas, and, indeed, all other regions have earmarked designated isolation and treatment centres for the management of suspected and confirmed cases, as well as the selection of facilities for mandatory quarantine is being carried out. An intensive public health education and community awareness on social distancing and hand washing will be carried out.
It is very important that we protect all healthcare providers with Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs)to make sure they do not contract the virus in the process of protecting our lives. Government has, therefore, taken delivery of additional PPEs and more are being procured. Distribution of seventeen thousand (17,000) coveralls, three hundred and fifty thousand (350,000) masks, seventeen thousand (17,000) goggles, two thousand four hundred (2,400) non-contact thermometers, three hundred and fifty thousand (350,000) gloves, twenty-five thousand (25,000) sanitsers, and thirty-thousand (30,000) tests kits are ongoing for healthcare personnel and those undertaking contact tracing and testing. We are recruiting one thousand (1,000) community health workers and an additional thousand (1,000) volunteers to help in this endeavour. One hundred pick-up vehicles and two thousand, five hundred (2,500) tablets have been mobilized for the exercise.
Fellow Ghanaians, I am urging all of you to bear with these additional measures. They are being done in the interest of all of us. They are, hopefully, only for a short while. These additional measures, together with those earlier announced, are what will help us defeat the virus. And, we must be united in our determination and efforts to overcome this challenge. This, certainly, is not the time for politicking or the display of partisanship. The virus does not care which party you belong to, neither is it, as we have seen, a respecter of persons. The enemy is the virus, and not each other.
As I have stated in my earlier broadcasts, all the measures I have announced tonight will be subject to constant review.
Fellow Ghanaians, we are in this together, and Government will stand by you. We are aware that there will be discomfort and difficulties for all of us over the next couple of weeks. As a responsive Government, we will continue to implement bold measures to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus on businesses and households and ensure that job losses are minimized. The Minister for Finance has been directed by me to prepare, for approval by Parliament, a Coronavirus Alleviation Programme to address the disruption in economic activities, the hardship of our people, and to rescue and revitalize our industries. He will, then, immediately make available a minimum of one billion cedis (GH¢1 billion) to households and businesses, particularly small and medium scale enterprises. The commercial banks are, in addition, responding to the Bank of Ghana’s 1.5% decrease in the Policy Pate and 2% in reserve requirement with a three billion-cedi (GH¢3 billion) facility, to support industry especially in the pharmaceutical, hospitality, service and manufacturing sectors.
We are providing additional relief, such as extension of the tax filing date from April to June; a two percent (2%) reduction of interest rates by banks, effective 1st April, 2020; the granting by the banks of a six (6) month moratorium of principal repayments to entities in the airline and hospitality industries, i.e. hotels, restaurants, car rentals, food vendors, taxis, and uber operators. All other sector credit exposures will be reviewed on a case by case basis; mobile money users can send up to one hundred cedis (GH¢100) for free; and a one hundred percent (100%) to three hundred percent (300%) increase in the daily transaction limits for mobile money transactions
Let me also reiterate that the ban on public gatherings, religious or social, is still in force. Anyone, irrespective of status, religion or ethnicity, who is found to be flouting them will be dealt with fully in accordance with law. The security services have been clothed with the necessary power to enforce these measures, and I assure you that they will do so responsibly, but without fear or favour, ill-will or malice.
Fellow Ghanaians, with the Bank of Ghana predicting a worst-case GDP growth rate scenario of 2.5% for 2020, should the virus continue to linger for the rest of the year, the effects on our economy would be dire. However, as we have demonstrated over the course of the last three years, where we inherited an economy that was growing at 3.4% and transformed it into one which has grown by an average of 7% over the last three (3) years, I assure you that we know what to do to bring back our economy back to life. What we do not know how to do is to bring people back to life.
We will, therefore, protect people’s lives, then their livelihoods.
For the next two weeks, I urge all of you, especially residents in the affected areas of Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi, to be reminded, every day, that the frontline of the fight against Coronavirus is your front door. If you cross it, you and your family will likely be infected. So, please, stay at home. It is vitally important that each one of us, in all parts of the country, continues to observe the social distancing and enhanced hygiene protocols, for they are the weapons of our defence against the virus.
I am announcing tonight the establishment of a COVID-19 Fund, to be managed by an independent board of trustees, and chaired by former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, to receive contributions and donations from the public to assist in the welfare of the needy and the vulnerable. I have directed the Controller and Accountant General to pay my next three months’ salary, i.e. April, May and June, into this Fund. Let me also thank, from the bottom of my heart, the churches, financial institutions and individuals who have already made donations to help in this fight. God richly bless them.
We can defeat this virus if we all commit ourselves to respecting all the measures that have been outlined. I am confident that Ghanaians will comply with them, and the security services will not have to intervene, with extraordinary means, to enforce them. The love of country is deeply embedded in all of us, and I assure you that the security forces will conduct themselves with the necessary professionalism.
Meserɛ mo, nsɛm aa makayi, yɛn nyinaa yɛn mbɔ mɔden na yɛn disu. Nyankopɔn adaroma, ɛbɛ boa yɛn.
Minkpa nyɛ fai, saneɛ ni nwieɛ, nyɛ feɛ nyɛ bɔ mɔden ni nyɛ ye nɔ. Nyɔmo dromɔ, e baa wa wɔ feɛ.
We have prayed to Almighty God to heal our land, and I know that, by the Grace of God, He has heard our cry. Nonetheless, each one of us must do his or her part.
May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.
I thank you for your attention. Good night.
Communications Bureau |Office of the President| 27 March 2020 |Accra
Fellow Ghanaians,
I have come into your homes, again, this evening to provide an update, as I promised, on the measures taken by Government to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.
You may recall that on Wednesday, 12th March, 2020, when I first spoke to you directly on this matter, I announced the first raft of enhanced measures taken in response to the pandemic. At the time, there had been no reported, confirmed case of the Coronavirus in Ghana.
Since then, six (6) confirmed cases have been announced, all of people who recently travelled into the country. Advisories on how to manage the developments have also been announced by the Ministries of Health and Information. Public education is being intensified to ensure that citizens are well advised on preventive measures.
Earlier today, Sunday, 15th March, 2020, I chaired a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Coronavirus response. After deliberations, I have decided, in the interest of public safety and the protection of our population, to review the public gathering advisories earlier announced as follows:
1. All public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, sporting events and religious activities, such as services in churches and mosques, have been suspended for the next four (4) weeks. Private burials are permitted, but with limited numbers, not exceeding twenty-five (25) in attendance;
2. All Universities, Senior High Schools, and basic schools, i.e. public and private schools, will be closed Monday, 16th March, 2020, till further notice. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication, has been tasked to roll out distance learning programmes. However, BECE and WASSCE candidates will be allowed to attend school to prepare for their examinations, but with prescribed social distancing protocols;
3. The Government of Ghana’s Travel Advisory issued earlier today should be observed as announced;
4. Businesses and other workplaces can continue to operate, but should observe prescribed social distancing between patrons and staff;
5. Establishments, such as supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants, night clubs, hotels and drinking spots, should observe enhanced hygiene procedures by providing, amongst others, hand sanitizers, running water and soap for washing of hands;
6. The Ministry of Transport should work with the transport unions and private and public transport operators to ensure enhanced hygienic conditions in all vehicles and terminals, by providing, amongst others, hand sanitizers, running water and soap for washing of hands; and
7. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development should co-ordinate, with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, measures to enhance conditions of hygiene in markets across the country.
Additionally, as the experts conduct contact tracing, I appeal to all to co-operate with them to ensure that persons who have come into contact with positive cases are identified and supported.
I have directed the Attorney General to submit, immediately, to Parliament emergency legislation, in accordance with Article 21 (4) (c) & (d) of the Constitution of the Republic, to embody these measures, and I have further directed the Minister for Health to exercise his powers, under section 169 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), by the immediate issuance of an Executive Instrument, to govern the relevant measures. I call upon Parliament to support the Executive in this national endeavour.
As I said earlier, there is every need to observe prescribed social distancing and good personal hygiene to prevent community spread. We are determined to do whatever we can to prevent the spread of the virus, and protect the population. All the measures that have been announced will be subject to constant review and enhancement, if necessary.
Fellow Ghanaians, these are not ordinary times, so, let us all put our shoulders to the wheel, and I am confident that, together, by the Grace of God, we shall overcome this challenge.
May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.
I thank you for your attention.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has expressed his satisfaction with the measures Government has put in place to deal with the threat of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 4th March, 2020, when he paid visits to the Kotoka International Airport, the Tema General Hospital and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
Accompanied by the Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Manu, the President’s first port of call was the arrivals terminal of the Kotoka International Airport.
It was revealed by the Health Minister that several stakeholder engagements with the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Ghana Immigration Services, Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority, at all the country’s ports of entry, have been held place to strengthen Ghana’s COVID-19 preparedness and surveillance.
The Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Ltd, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa, told President Akufo-Addo that, on arrival at the airport, all passengers are screened using thermal scanning devices at the airport, and passengers are also required to fill a health declaration form.
Additionally, the GACL boss indicated that point of entry staff at the airport have been sensitised on case detection and infection prevention and control, together with the creation of a holding room at the airport which is to be utilised to hold suspected COVID-19 cases.
At the Tema General Hospital, one of the hospitals designated as a treatment /isolation centre for the COVID-19 disease, the Medical Director of hospital, Dr. Richard Anthony, told President Akufo-Addo that the Infectious Diseases Unit of the Hospital is “readily prepared for the COVID-19. We have an emergency response team made up of nurses, pharmacists, administrators on standby”.
The President was taken on a tour of the clean room encompassing a changing area for the nurses, as well as the main ward, which did not have any patients as at the time of the visit.
“We have not had any suspected or cases tested in Tema General,” he added.
At the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, another hospital designated as a treatment /isolation centre for the COVID-19 disease, President Akufo-Addo was told that the infectious diseases centre of the hospital “is a full unit, purposely-built and well-designed to hold and quarantine an infectious case.”
The President was made aware of the fact that the emergency response team at the hospital has been activated, with basic medical checks undertaken on every patient who visits the hospital.
“If there is any positive indication of the contraction of a disease, we keep you and we make arrangement for the patient to be transported to this centre. We conduct a test, which involves taking samples and sending it to Noguchi. To date, we have tested about seventeen people who fitted into the case definition. However, luckily, none of them tested positive,” the head of the Centre told President Akufo-Addo
In briefing the President, the Minister of Health stated that public health emergency management structures at all levels, i.e. national, regional, district have been activated and placed on high alert, in addition to the holding of National Technical Co-ordinating Committee meetings.
He added that emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated, alerts have been sent to all regions to activate Public Health Emergency Management Committees (PHEMCs) to initiate preparedness activities and enhance surveillance for respiratory diseases.
Thus far, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Manu told President Akufo-Addo that forty (40) suspected corona virus cases have been reported and tested. All forty (40), he stressed have tested negative for COVID-19 from Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).
In accordance with the Local Government Laws, the Ahanta West Municipal Assembly took steps to inaugurate all Six Area councils namely; Agona, Ewusiejoe, Busua, Apowa, Dixcove, Abura Area Councils. This programme was a well-attended one.
The Ahanta West Municipal Assembly Inaugurated its general Assembly on Tuesday, 23 January, 2020. The programme was graced by Traditional Leaders, Opinion Leaders and Various Key Stakeholders. the programme was chaired by the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Ahantaman Rural Bank Ltd.
The President was represented by Mr. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. He urged all stakeholders to work in unity and champion the development of the Municipality.
The Ahanta West District Assembly was today elevated to the status of a municipality. Hence It name is now AHANTA WEST MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY.
