Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says the government should help bear the cost of quarantine for the stranded Ghanaians abroad yet to be brought back home.
According to him, these are people who have nothing in the countries they currently are, and would not be able to pay for the hotel services during the two-week mandatory quarantine they are to observe when they arrive.
These assertions come after the government announced that it has arranged chartered flights to bring back Ghanaians home based on a schedule drawn up by the Ministry even though most countries have closed their borders due to COVID-19.
Mr. Ablakwa, who had earlier expressed disappointment in the government’s handling of evacuating Ghanaians abroad, commended the government after this announcement.
On Eyewitness News on Friday, he, however, pleaded with the government to be empathetic to the returnees.
“The other concern that I have which has not been adequately addressed thus far is the cost of quarantine. I am exceedingly worried that the cost is too high. We are told that the cut-throat prices from the two-star and five-star hotels range from GHS7,000 to GHS12,000. How can they afford it? These are people who are really stranded. Some run out of money for hotel bills and are now sleeping on the streets and you want them to pay that amount of money?” he wondered.
“Meanwhile, only three weeks ago, Parliament approved US$12.7 million for government exclusively for the cost of quarantine as part of the COVID-19 response. This was when we approved the US$100 million World Bank facility. So my question is is the US$12.7 million finished? Couldn’t we find space as part of that money arrangement to extend the moratorium on humanitarian grounds? You should be empathetic to these stranded Ghanaians,” the North Tongu MP insisted.
He further suggested ways by which the government can isolate these people without spending so much money.
He stated, “The other idea that we could pursue is to explore all these educational institutions with hostel facilities that are lying fallow, then disinfect the place after the coronavirus. We have shown the capacity to disinfect and fumigate. We can show more creativity and empathy once we have the political will.”
Background
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, yesterday [Friday] told Parliament that government has begun rolling out the second phase of its evacuation programme for Ghanaians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The countries captured in the schedule include Nigeria, Mauritania, Ethiopia, China, United States Of America, United Kingdom, UAE, among others.
Responding to questions in Parliament, the Minister indicated that a lot of considerations have gone into government’s evacuation programme.
Madam Ayorkor Botchway also said negotiations are currently underway between our Beijing Mission and Ethiopian Airlines for the evacuation of some 675 stranded Ghanaians in China.
The Foreign Ministry is also in discussion with the Scholarship Secretariat and the National COVID-19 Task Force to finalise arrangements to evacuate 151 Ghanaians students who completed their language proficiency courses in Benin last month using STC buses.