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Coronavirus: Obey lockdown directives or risk prosecution – A/R Minister to residents

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, has asked residents affected by the partial lockdown in Kumasi and its environs to observe the directives or risk prosecution.

He says offenders could be fined up to GHS12,000 or in default serve a four-year prison term.

Speaking to Citi News, he indicated that the level of compliance has been generally good. He is however worried about how the social distancing protocol is poorly being observed especially in the various markets.

Mr. Osei Mensah added that although the region is carrying out sensitisation, the security personnel will enforce the President’s directives without any hesitation.

“We are still educating them. We are urging them to keep spaces in between them to ensure they don’t get infected with the disease. We all need to contain this within the two weeks period and if we are able to do that, definitely, it will help us arrest the situation in the shortest possible time.“

“The security agencies are actually doing their best. There are various forms of criticisms. There are some people who are saying the security agencies are not doing much. At the same time, we have others who are saying that the security agencies are managing the situation with very stiff hands. So we have varied positions being said by several people. Initially, we were cautioning people and advising them, now, we have moved to a different stage. Those people who will break the directives would be arrested and put before the law court. They should know the penalty.  Financially, you can be fined around twelve thousand Ghana cedis or four years in prison. I think this is not an easy sanction so everybody so refrains from breaking the law”.

UTAG, Pretty Ups Construction donate to COVID-19 Fund

Speaking to Citi News after the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG-National) and the Pretty UPs Construction Company presented GHS 30,000 and GHS 100, 000 respectively to the national COVID-19 Fund, the Regional Minister urged others to emulate the gesture.

“As we all know, this involves a lot of funding and the government alone cannot shoulder all these things. This is a shared responsibility which requires all hands on deck so we are appealing to all corporate institutions, individuals and anybody that has the capacity to support the fund”.

For the University Teachers Association of Ghana, apart from their donation of GHS 30, 000, all local UTAG groups in other 10 public universities across the country have also been making donations to various hospitals to help curtail the spread of the disease. Prof. Charles Marfo is the National UTAG President.

“We have been engaging our members. That is to say that besides this donation, we are doing other things- in cash and in-kind to help fight this menace.”

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