Kwabena Mintah Akandoh – Minority spoke person on Health in parliament
Had President Akufo-Addo and his government succumbed to the persistent pressure by opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to airlift Ghanaian students in China home, the COVID-19 narrative would have been different.
The mischievous NDC who completed a three-day prayer session yesterday would have turned round hypocritically to blame the government for taking a costly decision unwittingly.
God forbid! We would have been saddled with an intractable conundrum of pestilence, imported of course. That decision was not taken because intelligent and cool heads brooded over it as should be done under such situations. It paid and the dividends are palpable.
It was a mischievous advice; a party which is always opposing policies not originating from them can hardly proffer good counsel to government, constructive opposition is not for them.
The NDC leadership owes Ghanaians an apology for a near disaster and gratitude to President Akufo-Addo for snubbing their ill-thought admonition.
Considering the dexterity with which the Chinese tackled the pandemic and the results thereof against the fact that no Ghanaian student was victim to the affliction, President Akufo-Addo took a better decision.
President Akufo-Addo is on top of affairs as he takes appropriate decisions at opportune moments. No president in the world was prepared for the pandemic; not even the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Okudzeto Ablakwa appeared to be championing the cause of his party to have our student compatriots returned in the early days of the unfolding pandemic. This was a time even the WHO avoided describing a pandemic. Moving the students from their locked-down locations to the airport would have been the points of the infection, a fact the NDC deliberately ignored.
On social media, the excitement from the opposition NDC camp as they seek to exploit the pandemic for their electoral gains is clear.
A Sammy Gyamfi authored correspondence says it all about the excitement of their party. He points at the suspension of the registration for Ghana Cards, for which he expresses gratitude for all those who supported with the propaganda against the exercise.
There is word about an NDC-created COVID-19 advocacy committee. There was an earlier address by the party’s flag bearer. Ghana has one president and government we would not hesitate to point out. Such COVID-19 manoeuvres tell us more about the opposition NDC and their insincerity when they embark on such missions.
It is interesting how the NDC leadership does not appreciate the fact that there cannot be an election in a democracy without a credible voters’ register.
COVID-19 pandemic might delay the process somewhat but cannot under any circumstances stop us from undertaking credible elections in this country.
Like other pestilences before it, COVID-19 shall, God willing, come to pass and those silently rejoicing because they erroneously think it will compel the country to use a contagion-riddled voters’ register shall bow their heads in shame.