Ghanaian security analyst, Adam Bonaa says the government is breaking its own rules and guidelines instituted to check the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb, Mr Bonaa said even though the government has enacted laws to prosecute persons breaking the laws on the ban on social gathering and the restrictions on movements, the same government in its quest to make available food to the needy and vulnerable is breaking the set out laws.
“The same government that is telling us not to gather either for church service, or mosque or other social activities. The same government has found the means to ask people to gather in their hundreds if not in thousands to be given food rations. If you have observed there is nothing like social distancing where we are told that they should be six-feet apart. You have people literally stomping on each other. You have officials of the government throwing food into the air for the strongest and the fittest to catch them in the air,” He observed
He said this act, if not checked by government has the potential to serve as a catalyst to worsen the community spread of the virus in the country.
Absence of security presence in some lockdown areas
Having toured over 100 communities in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Bonaa says he has also observed the lack of security presence in some parts of the lockdown areas, an incident which he says is not helping in enforcing the restrictions on movements.
Food distribution and how to do it better
On how best to manage the shortfalls in the distribution of food to the needy, he called on the government to ensure this is done through the use of social venues and institutions such as churches and mosques instead of political machineries.
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He also called on government to open up new temporal markets that will be close enough to locals to prevent them from travelling to areas such as the central business districts to purchase food items and other essentials.
Rent and data
On other issues caused by the current situation, Mr Bonaa said he has received several reports of landlords asking tenants to vacate their houses despite the current slowdown in economic activities, which is causing some tenants to miss out on settling their rents.
He observed that with the current restrictions on movements this development has become a distressing moment for the affected tenants.
“One other thing has to do with renting, government has not looked at those who are leaving in rented properties and this affects majority of Ghanaians. I have had reports from people who have told me that my landlord said I should move out. If my landlord says I should move out and the only house I can move in is in my hometown which is in the Eastern Region or the Ashanti Region now I cannot go. Yet there is no directive telling landlords that in the next three months you cannot take rent.”
He suggested that government should absorb rents for the next three months and eventually settle the affected landlords after the have successfully filed document of their tax returns.
He again questioned why government has not reduced data cost in these times when citizens have had to make extensive use of the internet to keep up with their daily activities.
“If you come to my home I am using ten times the amount of data I use because I am mostly doing a lot of work on the internet. I have my children who have to do e-learning and it is costing soo much to do that. I am paying more for data than I use to pay for electricity and I believe that this is the time government should come out with these interventions. Cut down data if it’s going to be unlimited, 50% discount or 80% for the period, so that when things come back to normal we can go back.” He pointed out.
Security Analyst, Adam Bonaa