Posts in category: Other News

Ghana has donated 100,000 units of election thumbprint pads to the Niger Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) towards the conduct of the second round of presidential election in that country.

Ghana’s Ambassador to Niger, Mr Jonathan R. Magnusen, presented the items to the CENI in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, yesterday.

The donation was made on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is also the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, and the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.

It was in response to a request CENI made to Ghana for assistance due to pressure to meet constitutional time limits for the organisation of the second-round presidential election, as well as delays in the global supply chain as a result of the COVID-19 which made it impossible to receive replenishment in time for the election.

The second-round election, scheduled for next Sunday, is between a former Head of Niger’s Interior and Foreign ministries, Mr Mohamed Bazoum, who secured 39.3 per cent of the votes in the first round, and former President Mahamane Ousmane, who garnered 16.9 per cent of the 5.1 million valid ballots cast.

The run-off became necessary when none of the 28 candidates in the December 27, 2020 presidential election secured majority votes.

Satisfactory democratic path

Mr Magnusen noted the satisfaction of the government and the people of Ghana with the democratic path Niger had embarked on, which resulted in the election of December 2020, the outcome of which had been hailed by stakeholder civil society groups, election observers and the international community to be generally free, fair and credible.

He further underscored the high turnout in the election, particularly the participation of women, as a demonstration of the will of the people of Niger to reinforce and consolidate democracy, good governance, stronger democratic institutions, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law in the country.

Friendly ties

The Ambassador described the donation as another milestone in the long history of brotherliness, friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance that had characterised relations between the two countries for more than a century.

Mr Magnusen recalled the pioneering efforts of the first Presidents of both countries, Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Mr Hamani Diori of Niger, to unite the African continent with the common purpose of African emancipation, human, social and economic development.

Both leaders also pursued a vision to let all Africans come to the realisation that they were one people with a common destiny, regardless of the cultural and linguistic differences, as well as the artificial borders that separated them as a result of the colonial experience, he said.

Ambassador Magnusen underscored the role of CENI in the democratic process and expressed the admiration and commendation of the government and the EC to the President and the staff of CENI for their outstanding efforts to ensure a successful election in December 2020, in spite of the security, infrastructural, logistic and other challenges.

Beacon of democracy

While noting that Ghana was often described as a beacon of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, he said democratic credentials and experience had taught Ghana that democracy could not thrive and be consolidated without respect for the will of the people.

He paid tribute to Nigerien President, Mr Mahamadou Issoufou, for his decision not to seek an extension of his constitutional two-term mandate, a decision that had earned him the respect and admiration of the international community.

That had also placed him in the record books as the first President of Niger to supervise the handing over of political power from a democratically elected President to another democratically elected President,” the envoy said.

Ambassador Magnusen expressed the hope that the donation would complement the efforts of the Nigerien government to ensure a successful, free, fair and credible second-round presidential election to usher in a constitutional successor to the current government.

Thanks

The President of CENI, Mr Issaka Souna, expressed profound gratitude to President Akufo-Addo, the EC and the people of Ghana for the prompt assistance to facilitate the second round of the presidential election.

He thanked Ghana for the speed with which it responded to the request, as well as the spirit of generosity, fraternity, solidarity and cooperation that characterised the entire process of arranging and delivering the consignment to Niger.

He noted that ECOWAS had put in place a system for the common management of electoral processes, mutual assistance and the provision of goods and services by member states.

While recognising the donation from Ghana both as a national show of solidarity and support and a gesture within the ECOWAS framework, he expressed the hope that the ECOWAS framework of mutual assistance towards elections would be strengthened, and called on the authorities and institutions of other member states of ECOWAS to make the necessary efforts to work together in the management of election materials.

Mr Souna also emphasised that the donation would assist CENI to organise a transparent election, and gave an assurance that the people of Niger “will exercise their sovereign franchise on 21st February in a manner characterised by transparency and freedom of choice”.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Barring any last-minute hitches, this year’s schools placement will be out on Sunday, February 21, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, has hinted.

The placement will cover candidates, both school and private, who wrote the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in 2020, as well as other re-entrants.

In all, about 525,000 qualified BECE candidates will be seeking placement into 721 senior high, technical and vocational schools of their choices which have declared about 535,000 vacancies.

Enough places

Prof. Opoku-Amankwa told the Daily Graphic that the GES had worked closely with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to release the results of the majority of the candidates whose results had been withheld, adding that there were currently less than 100 candidates whose results had still been withheld.

He added that there were enough vacancies for the candidates, for which reason there was no need for any candidate or parent to panic.

The director-general explained that the challenge with the CSSPS had always been an issue of choice and not the availability of spaces.

Oversubscribed schools

Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said over the years, the number of candidates who qualified to be placed was always far below the vacancies available, “and every year when we do our placement, just as we get oversubscribed schools, we also get under-subscribed schools”.

He said only about 100 schools, out of the 721 were usually oversubscribed.

Arrangement

On the arrangements being put in place to address overcrowding of candidates and parents, he explained that unlike the previous years when the management of the GES had to set up solution centres where those with genuine issues could go for help, “this year, because of the COVID-19, we want to avoid the situation where people will rush to the Black Star Square and other places to gather”.

“So we are setting up call centres to receive and work on issues people may be coming up with,” he explained.

Prof. Opoku-Amankwa explained that at such centres they could address genuine technical issues and also the issue of a day student placed in a distant school.

Asked whether or not the double-track system for school attendance should be stopped, he said discussions needed to go on as to whether or not it should remain or be completely scrapped as advocated by a section of society.

Self-placement

He also explained that based on an analysis of issues by the service, “the major issue that creates a problem for us is the self-placement”.

“In the past, when you did the self-placement, chose a school and for any reason you wanted to change it, the system did not allow you to do so. You needed to come back to us, and that was why we got people massing up at the Black Star Square to do those changes,” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa explained.

This year, however, he added, the candidates would be allowed some level of flexibility to effect changes on their own.

“For this year, candidates will be allowed to change schools a couple of times until finally they enrol in them. So until you enrol in a school, you can continue to do changes up till the enrolment deadline, and once you have the opportunity to change, you do not need to come over here to seek any assistance or for someone to do that for you,” he told the Daily Graphic.

He was of the belief that the self-placement issue formed more than 70 per cent of the challenges the GES had concerning the placement and was optimistic that with this new module, the system would work smoothly.

Delays

He explained that the placement of candidates under the CSSPS had, over the years, been done three weeks to the reopening of schools, and “this year’s is no different”.

“Usually we give them some three weeks to prepare to go to school and we wanted to keep to that,” he said.

Prof. Opoku-Amankwa also explained that there had been no delay in the placement, as some people were speculating, saying the same format that was used during the pre-COVID-19 era was what the GES had stuck to this year.

He said the period of waiting after the results were released afforded the GES to engage with the WAEC to ensure that majority of the candidates whose results were withheld had them released.

On December 16, last year when WAEC released the results, 977 candidates had their subject results withheld, pending the outcome of investigations.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been re-elected Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

A statement issued following its extraordinary session held on Wednesday, 3 February 2021, said: “… The Authority calls on His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Republic of Ghana with the support of the Ministerial Ad hoc Committee on institutional reforms to lead a reflection on the issues and a report on this point be submitted to the ordinary session of the Authority to be held in June 2021”.

“To that effect, a consensus emerged from the heads of state and governments that His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo continues for a second term as Chair of the ECOWAS Authority to oversee the implementation of the reforms.”

“The heads of state and governments expressed sincere appreciation to His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana and Chair of ECOWAS Authority of heads of state and governments for his leadership in steering the affairs of the community.”

Mr Akufo-Addo, who won a second term of office as President following Ghana’s 2020 polls, was first elected to chair the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the 57th ECOWAS Summit held in September 2020.

The Summit was held in Niamey, capital of Niger at the time.

Source: Class FM

The Ghana Heath Service (GHS) says it has identified a wide community spread of the mutated United Kingdom (UK) variant of the COVID-19 that can take over the traditional one if the public continues to defy the safety protocols.

It said that was a cause for worry because the UK variant had a higher and faster rate of spread, results in severer sickness, with high numbers of people exposed to it falling sick, unlike the traditional form of the virus.

National briefing

Addressing the media at the Minister’s Briefing, a national platform for providing updates on the national COVID-19 situation and response, in Accra on Tuesday, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, reiterated the need for the public to enhance adherence to the safety protocols.

He said although the service had put in place measures to contain the spread of the new variant, the desired result of breaking the transmission could not be achieved if members of the public refused to wear their face masks and strictly adhere to all the other safety protocols.

He mentioned some of the measures as enhanced contact tracing, testing and treatment.

“We must continue to adhere to hand and respiratory hygiene. Always cough into a face mask, flexed elbow or a tissue and dispose of it immediately into a closed bin and wash or sanitise your hands immediately. We must also observe between one and two metres of social distancing protocols at all times,” he said.

More fall sick

The director-general reiterated the fact that during the last two surge incidences last year, 21 per cent of recorded cases were falling sick, with majority being asymptomatic, but currently the situation was different, with 32 per cent falling sick.

He said the widely spreading new variant was identified when the service intensified its community surveillance to ascertain whether the new COVID-19 variant was spreading within communities.

That was after recording a case each of the new UK and South African variants among travellers at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

At a similar briefing a week ago, Dr Kuma-Aboagye had said the service suspected that the new variants picked at the airport could be the reason a high number of people exposed to the virus were falling sick, compared to previous situations.

He disclosed that the GHS was enhancing the national response measures, such as contact tracing, testing, treatment and the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).

He said the GHS was also intensifying public education and had scheduled sensitisation sessions with key stakeholders, such as market women, driver unions and cooperatives.

“To decrease community spread, all who test positive will be put into isolation or treatment centres to help break the chain of community spread.

“The Pentecost Convention Centre, which was previously used and handed back to the church when cases began to decline, has become operational from February 1, 2021,” he said.

He said all contacts or cases would have to mandatorily self-quarantine for 14 days and monitored.

National update/face mask wearing

Providing an update on the national situation, Dr Kuma-Aboagye said Ghana had, as of January 30, 2021, 5,515 active cases.

He said 67,782 cases had been identified out of the 783,432 suspected cases tested.

He said 61,843 people who tested positive for the virus had recovered and been discharged, with 424 infected people dying.

The director-general said a research conducted by the service had established that the wearing of face masks, which was at 44 per cent last year, had dropped to as low as seven per cent and over time risen to 42 per cent as of last month.

He said non-compliance with proper face mask wearing and other safety protocols had been a major cause of case surges in the country.

Penalty

People who fail to wear face masks in public commit an offence that carries a prison sentence of four to 10 years or a fine ranging from GH¢12,000 to GH¢60,000, or both, as contained in Executive Instrument (E.I. 164).

President Akufo-Addo signed E.I. 164 on June 15, 2020 as part of measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19.

Paragraph 4 (1) of E.I. 164 states that the police have the authority to make random checks to “ensure enforcement and compliance.”

According to Paragraph 4(2) of E.I. 164, any person who fails to comply with the mandatory wearing of face masks shall be punished in accordance with Section 6 of Act 1,012.

Work places

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the GHS was also focusing on the promotion of decongestion at workplaces because there had been a number of workplace outbreaks.

He said the nature of workplace spread was such that every single case was a potential outbreak due to the level of interaction, common touch surfaces and the enclosed nature of most workplaces.

He cited nine workplace incidences which resulted in over 700 cases.

“We must, therefore, ensure that workplaces are adhering to the mandatory presidential directive to operate shift systems and employ virtual working platforms,” he said.

He appealed to institutions to desist from managing any case or suspected cases in isolation because that could result in the system at the national level missing a number of cases that could aggravate the national burden.

“We encourage virtual meetings and working from home policies,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye said.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The mortal remains of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings will be laid to rest today [Wednesday, January 27, 2021] at the Military Cemetery, in Accra.

This will be preceded by a state burial service at the Black Star Square, climaxing a four-day elaborate state funeral.

The burial service will be attended by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and some heads of states in the sub-region.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the burial service is expected to attract hundreds of Ghanaians from across the country, with calls on many to follow the event on television or online.

Ghana received the news of the sudden death of ex-President Jerry John Rawlings with disbelief and sorrow on Thursday, November 12, 2021, after a short illness.

The Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was the first president of the Fourth Republic, ruling from January 1993 to January 2001, having served the maximum two terms.

Before then, he was the Head of State from December 1981 to December 1992, coming to power through a military coup.

Born 22 June 1947, in Accra, Gold Coast, the former air force officer and politician first appeared on the Ghanaian political scene on 15 May, 1979 when he led a group of junior officers in the Ghana Air Force in an unsuccessful coup d’état that resulted in his arrest and imprisonment.

He was court-martialled in public and sentenced to death. Due to his display of patriotism in his defense speeches, he was widely seen across the country as a true son of Ghana, and was nicknamed Junior Jesus for his initials “JJ”.

Before he could be executed, another group of junior officers within the Ghana Army led by Major Boakye-Djan, overthrew the then military government of Lieutenant General Fred Akuffo in a bloody coup on June 4, 1979. Major Boakye-Djan and his men also set Rawlings free from prison, and installed him as head of the new government – the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).

At the time of the coup, Ghana was already far into the process of returning to civilian rule and general elections were already scheduled. Hence, the AFRC went ahead to conduct an election and handed over power to Dr. Hilla Limann who won the popular vote in the election to establish the Third Republic.

Less than two years later, Dr. Limann’s civilian and constitutional government was overthrown again by Jerry Rawlings on 31 December, 1981.

He then installed the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime. In all Jerry Rawlings performed three coups d’état in Ghana, two of which were successful.

Rawlings was married to Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and had four adult children: three females and a male. He was the joint recipient of the 1993 World Hunger Award.

Appointment As AU High Representative For Somalia

On 8 October 2010, the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, appointed Rawlings, as the AU High Representative for Somalia.

“A great tree has fallen, and Ghana is poorer for this loss…May his soul rest in perfect peace in the bosom of the Almighty until the Last Day of the Resurrection when we shall meet again,” said President Akufo-Addo.

Rawlings was 73.

Source: GNA

The Ghana Heath Service (GHS) has intensified community surveillance to ascertain whether the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant is spreading within communities.

This has become necessary because the service believes the new variant, which has been detected among international travellers, could be the reason a high number of people exposed to the virus are falling sick.

Addressing the media at the Minister’s Briefing, a national platform for providing updates on the national COVID-19 situation and response in Accra on Monday, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said the service was also closely monitoring to pick any mutation of the virus to enhance national response.

“Although we have not detected the new UK and South African COVID-19 variant in the communities, its detection at the airport among international travellers and the change in pattern of the disease spread and severity suggest there is a new variant in the country and the chances are that we may have it and it could be responsible for the changing dynamics of the disease,” he said.

Safety protocols

Dr Kuma-Aboagye asked the public to adhere strictly to the safety protocols because, unlike previously, high numbers of people exposed to the virus were falling sick with high severity, while cases were going up at an alarming rate.

He said during the last two surge incidences in the previous year, 21 per cent of recorded cases were falling sick, with majority being asymptomatic, but currently the situation was different, with 32 per cent falling sick.

He mentioned other reasons for the alarming rise to include a rise in social activities and the disregard for the safety protocols, particularly during the Yuletide.

“Poor linkage to care of cases from walk-in labs is another cause of the current surge,” he said.

National update

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said there had been a sudden increase in active cases from about 800 to over 3,000 over the past three weeks, with the majority of cases coming from the Greater Accra Region.

He said as of January 22, 2021, a total of 62,135 cases had been detected, out of the 745,095 tests conducted.

Out of the number, 58,150 had been discharged and recovered, while 372 people had died due to co-morbidities.

Response

He disclosed that the GHS, in collaboration with the government, was enhancing all national response, such as contact tracing, testing, treatment and the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).

He reiterated the fact that all schools had been mapped to health facilities.

The director-general said the GHS was also intensifying public education and had scheduled sensitisation sessions with key stakeholders, such as market women, commercial driver unions and cooperatives.

“To decrease community spread, all who test positive will be put into isolation or treatment centres to help break the chain of community spread. The Pentecost Convention Centre, which was previously used and handed back to the church when cases began to decline, will become operational from February 1, 2021,” he said.

He said all contacts or cases would have to mandatorily self-quarantine for 14 days and monitored.

Shared responsibility

Dr Kuma-Aboagye reiterated the fact that beating the pandemic was a shared responsibility and, therefore, called on all to take their safety into their own hands by adhering strictly to the preventive protocols.

He reminded the public of their mandatory and civic obligation to always be in face masks before stepping out of home.

“We must continue to adhere to hand and respiratory hygiene. Always cough into a face mask, flexed elbow or a tissue and dispose of it immediately into a closed bin and wash or sanitise your hands immediately. We must observe this between one and two metres social distancing protocols at all times,” he said.

He said the GHS was also focusing on the promotion of decongestion at workplaces because there had been a number of workplace outbreaks.

“We encourage virtual meetings and working from home policies,” he said.

Restrictions

The minister-designate for Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, indicated that if the current alarming rise in COVID-19 cases did not change, the government might be forced to impose more restrictions to curb the spread.

He said the rise had largely been attributed to people losing their guard on adherence to the safety protocols.

He advised the citizenry to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines to avert the likelihood of the government bringing back some sanctions.

“There is a possibility of a lockdown and other restrictions. If this trend continues, then, yes, that is where we are heading. I have to be very clear on that one: that more restrictions could be introduced if this trend continues.

“We are being reminded that we all need to do the things we were doing in the beginning to ensure that this third rise is quickly dealt with because the dynamics of this third rise appear to be different from those of the first one.

“So, if these numbers go up this way, then, just as the President himself articulated, we are heading for more restrictions, even if it means reviewing some legal instruments,” Mr Nkrumah said.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The Electoral Commission (EC) has said it will conduct elections to elect regional representatives to the Council of State on February 12, this year.

The scheduled election is in accordance with Paragraph (C) of Clause (2) of Article 89 of the 1992 Constitution.

A statement issued by the EC yesterday said all qualified persons who intended to stand for the elections must submit their nomination forms, with two postcard size copies of recent photographs (bust), to the EC Regional Director in their respective regions.

Nomination forms

The submission of completed nomination forms must be done at the regional offices of the EC between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. from Monday, February 1 to Thursday, February 4, this year.

The nominees must be proposed and seconded by two registered voters and supported by 20 registered voters from the respective regions.

“Every nomination must be proposed and seconded by two (2) registered voters and supported by 20 registered voters in the region,” the statement said.

It added that the consent of the candidate must also be endorsed thereon.

“Copies of the nomination forms may be downloaded free of charge from the EC’s website (www.ec.gov,gh) and completed in triplicate,” it said.

The EC has, however, not indicated the venues for the elections.

Expanded membership

A source close to the EC confirmed to the Daily Graphic that with the regions now increased to 16, it meant automatically that 16 people would be elected to the new Council of State to be formed.

“In 2017, there were only 10 regions and so we held elections to choose 10 regional representatives. However, now that we have 16 regions, it stands to say that there will be elections in all 16 regions,” it explained.

The source, however, would not say if that would affect the number of people nominated by the President or membership would be expanded to include six more people to represent the six regions that had been created.

Council of State

The establishment of a Council of State in Ghana is a constitutional requirement brought into being by articles 89 to 92 of the 1992 Constitution, which says: “There shall be a Council of State to counsel the President in the performance of his functions”.

The Council of State that served during President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s first term was made up of 25 people and chaired by the Paramount Chief of the Asante-Juaben Traditional Area, Nana Otuo Siriboe II.

The term of office of members of the council is in agreement with the term of office of the President.

Membership

Membership of the council includes prominent citizens who are elected to represent each region, as well as those nominated by the President to advise him on national issues.

Each region elects a representative, while the President also appoints 11 members.

The ex-officio members are a former Chief Justice of Ghana, a former Chief of the Defence Staff, a former Inspector General of Police and the President of the National House of Chiefs.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The Supreme Court has set out five issues for determination in the 2020 presidential election petition filed by the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama.

A determination of the five issues by the court will enable the court come to a conclusion as to whether or not the petition has any merit.

The Apex court has also set timelines and mode of trial for it to hear the petition.

The five issues include:

• whether or not the petition discloses any cause of action – that is if there is any legal grounds for the petition,
• whether or not the second respondent [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo] met the Article 63 (3) threshold of the 1992 Constitution – this constitutional provision states that a presidential candidate must obtain more than 50 per cent of the total valid votes cast to be declared as President-elect,
• whether or not the 2nd respondent [Nana Akufo-Addo] still met the Article 63(3) of the 1992 threshold by the exclusion or inclusion of the Techiman South constituency presidential election results.

Other issues are:

• whether or not the declaration by the first respondent (EC) on December 9 of the presidential election conducted on December 7 was in violation of Article 63(3) of the 1992 Constitution,
• whether or not the alleged vote padding and other errors complained of by the petitioner affected the outcome of the presidential election results of 2020.

Meanwhile, the return date for the review filed by lead counsel for the petitioner is January 28, 2020.

Timelines

The timelines outlined and enumerated by the panel are as follows;

1. The petitioner and witness shall file witnesses statements with exhibits if any by the noon of Thursday, January 21, 2020.
2. The witness statement shall be served on the counsel the for the respondent by the close of Thursday January 21.
3. The respondents and the witnesses if any shall file their witness statement with exhibits if any by the close of the day on Friday, January 22, 2020
4. a. The first and second respondents shall file submissions on the preliminary objections raised to the petition by 12 noon of January 22.

    b. The registrar shall ensure service of submission by close of Friday, January 22.

    c. The petitioner shall file any response to the submission of the preliminary objection by Monday, Jan 25.

    d. The registrar shall ensure service of the petitioner’s response by close of Monday, January 25

    e. Ruling on the preliminary objection will be incorporated in the final judgement of the court.

Response

Meanwhile, Counsel for the petitioner, Mr Tsikata, who was not in agreement with the timelines argued that the timelines could have consequences on the review motion for review of the court’s ruling on the application for interrogatories among other outstanding issues.

However, Justice Professor Nii Ashie Kotey said the court was operating under strict timelines of C.I. 99.

In his response, Mr Tsikata said “justice must not be sacrificed for expedition.”

Hearing continues on Tuesday, January 26.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The Accra Regional Police Command on Tuesday, January 19, arrested 97 people for alleged non-compliance with the mandatory wearing of face masks.

The arrested people comprised 60 males and 37 females whom the police said had failed to wear face masks while going about their businesses in public places in Accra’s central business district.

Operation

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, who briefed the Daily Graphic, said the suspects were apprehended in a special operation aimed at enforcing the wearing of face masks, as directed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

She said the operation, which lasted four hours and was dubbed: ‘Operation wear your mask’, was carried out in the Tudu, CMB, Farisco and Railways areas and their environs.

She said those arrested would be processed for court.

Sanctions

The wearing of face masks is a mandatory safety protocol aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Addressing Ghanaians in the wake of a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, President Akufo-Addo made the wearing of face masks mandatory.

By way of Executive Instrument 164 (E.I. 164), the police were asked to lead in enforcing it.

People who fail to wear face masks in public risk a prison sentence of four to 10 years or a fine ranging between GH¢12,000 and GH¢60,000, or both.

Background

In his 22^nd broadcast to the nation on Ghana’s Enhanced Response to the COVID-19 pandemic last Sunday, President Akufo-Addo said: “I have instructed the Inspector General of Police to direct officers, men and women of the service to ensure the rigorous enforcement of the law on mask wearing at all public places and in public transport.

“They are also to ensure the closure of all night clubs, pubs, cinemas and beaches that may be operating in defiance of the law. They will be assisted by the other security agencies, if need be.”

He warned that anyone found disregarding the directive and arrested by the police would be dealt with strictly and in accordance with the law.

Source: Graphic.com.gh.