The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper East Region has accused Ghana’s Deputy Attorney General and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tempane, Lawyer Joseph Dindiok Kpemka of flouting the President’s ban on social gatherings to engage in political rallies in his constituency.
The NDC, in a statement issued by its Upper East Regional Youth Organizer, Abraham Lambon, and copied to our correspondent in the region, said Mr. Kpemka has ignored all social distancing protocols announced by the government and was going round holding political rallies in communities within his constituency, which put the lives of the people at risk of the Coronavirus.
The statement alleged that he held rallies in the Wonyanga and Bugri communities, drawing a crowd which failed to observe the guidelines put in place to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The statement further said the MP also failed to provide equipment such as nose masks, hand sanitizers, soap and ‘Veronica buckets’ at the grounds of the rallies to encourage hand washing to prevent the spread of the viral disease.
The NDC says the actions of the MP showed he “threw the preventive measures to the dogs”.
The statement also accused the government of lifting the partial lockdown to pave way for certain bodies including the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Electoral Commission (EC) to aid the New Patriotic Party (NPP) manipulate the 2020 elections in its favour.
The party, in the statement, concluded by urging the people of the Tempane area to adhere strictly to the preventive measure and to “not in any way allow anyone exchange their precious lives for votes”.
Below is the full statement from the NDC.
Nana Addo-Bawumia Government promotes COVID 19 Spread in Upper East through “the only Deputy Minister and Senior Government official from Upper East Region ".
At the time churches and mosques were closed down in the name of fighting COVID 19, the Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice and MP for Tempane Constituency violates the President’s ban on political activities and goes ahead holding political rallies in Wonyanga and Bugri communities respectively without observing the social distancing protocols.
The Hon. Minister is captured on video, boasting of being the only Deputy Minister and Senior government official from the Upper East Region.
He also claimed to have sent a number of his party members to the military and that he can do better than Mrs. Lydia Akanvariba Adakudugu.
Was Nana Addo's ban on social gatherings/political activities actually a deception? I guess the answer is in the affirmative.
Our MP and Deputy Attorney General didn't just violate the ban on social gatherings but threw the preventive measures to the dogs.
There was no evidence of preventive measures taken into consideration; no social distancing, no wearing of nose masks, no veronica buckets sighted for hand washing and no hand sanitizers were seen nor used.
Obviously, the people's vote is what matters to him and not their lives.
Instances such as this, goes to confirm the lifting of the partial lockdown wasn't just to take the so-called robust economy from the ICU but to pave way for the tripartite body to manipulate the 2020 election in their favour.
The EC is busily putting itself together to waste the tax payer money on a new register, The NIA is seriously massing up to continue mass registration of people for the Ghana card and the NPP is on a campaign trail for votes at the expense of precious lives as seen in the pictures attached.
I'll cease this opportunity to call on the good people of the Tempane Constituency to practice all the necessary preventive measures and not in any way allow anyone exchange their precious lives for votes.
The EC and NIA has been given PPEs to protect their workers when health workers are crying for same. The government cares less about the ordinary citizen and it's incumbent on we the ordinary citizens to protect ourselves from this deadly novel corona virus. Social distancing, regular hand washing with soap under running water, wearing of nose masks, avoiding crowded areas, and the use of hand sanitizers amongst others are very important measures we must all adopt in our fight against COVID 19.
#StopTheSpread
#StayHome
#StaySafe
Abraham Azumah Lambon
Regional Youth Organizer
National Democratic Congress
Upper East Region
Lawyer Kpemka with other members breaking the social distancing rule in a meeting