The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has extended the closure of the country’s borders for a month, effective 1a.m on Monday May 4, as part of measures to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the country.
This means no one would be allowed to enter or leave the country through land, air or sea for the entire period of May.
The country has, since March 23, closed its borders to human traffic as a measure to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Ghana had recorded 21 cases at that time.
“We know that the overwhelming majority of positive cases came from travellers or contacts of travellers. So, we have no option but to keep our borders closed until we are confident that we have put in place measures to prevent travellers from importing the virus,” the President said yesterday.
He was speaking at the virtual May Day Celebration at the studios of the Ghana Broadcast Corporation.
Organisers of the celebrations, the Trade Union Congress, decided not to hold the usual May Day Celebration due to the ban on large public social gatherings.
Instead, selected members of the Union converged at GBC with President Akufo-Addo to deliver May Day speeches to Ghanaians via television broadcast.
President AKufo-Addo said the restrictions would not be a permanent feature in the lives of Ghanaians but “they are, for now, essential to our survival”.
He announced plans by the government to outline steps to systematically ease the restrictive measures to bring the country back to normalcy.
“But, I would plead with you – stop the stigmatisation of recovered persons – as it will rather drive people away from getting screened, tested and treated. The stigmatisation of recovered persons must not go on, because if the virus did not end their lives and livelihoods, the stigma from members of their communities should not”.
“The overwhelming majority of them would continue to live perfectly normal lives, and cease to be sources of infections” he said.
President AKufo-Addo urged workers to remain united and resolute, maintain self-discipline and contribute to the fight against the pandemic.
“I am confident that together, if we remain united and resolute, and maintain discipline and self-discipline, we shall defeat this virus. This, too, shall pass! For the Battle is the Lord’s”, he said.
The President entreated workers to emulate the effort of organised labour during the national struggle for freedom and independence from British colonial power over six decades ago.
“The historic call for Positive Action in 1950, made by our first President, Kwame Nkrumah, would not have succeeded without the active support of the trades’ union movement, then led by the legendary trades unionists, Pobee Biney and Vidal Quist,” the President observed.
“On behalf of government and the people of Ghana, I wish all workers a Happy May Day celebration. We recognise and appreciate the efforts and sacrifices you have made towards the construction of the happy and prosperous Ghana we seek, and, on this day, I say a big ayekoo to each one of you,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said job creation would continue to be the top most priority of his administration.
“Indeed, the latest Ghana Living Standards Survey states that the rate of unemployment, which stood at 11.9 per cent in 2015, dropped to 7.3 per cent in 2019. By the same token, our GDP has been growing over the last three years at an average of seven per cent per year, up from the 3.4 per cent we inherited in 2016”.
Ghana, in this period, has become the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in West Africa. All this, because our macro-economy has been considerably strengthened,” he said.
By Yaw Kyei
