As part of measures to ensure that members of the public within the restriction of movement areas – Accra, Kumasi, Tema and Kasoa – live comfortably, the government has announced hotlines for needy communities and households to reach them for food items.
They are 0800800800 and 0800900900.
The distribution of food followed the restriction of movement within some areas
and the suspension of social gatherings, which had made it impossible for some
people to continue to earn a living through their petty businesses and trading
activities.
Mrs Cynthia Mamle Morrison, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social
Protection who announced the hotlines while the Sector and the Ministry of
Finance were offloading food items to faith-based organisations to share to
needy individuals and communities in the affected areas.
Government, she said, since the restriction of movement has distributed between
400,000 and 450,000 packs of food every day to needy people including persons
with disability in affected areas.
Government also secured a 500 seater-capacity hostel for kayaye, she said, and
gave assurance that they would be transported into the facility on Monday April
6, 2020 to ensure they lived comfortably without fear.
Mrs Morrison explained that government collaborated with faith-based
organisations through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, as they had
demonstrated a commitment towards promoting the wellbeing of vulnerable people,
to enable them to ensure that they lived fulfilled lives.
She advised the public to observe the COVID-19 preventive measures, drink more
water with lime, and build their immune systems with healthy diets to resist
the virus infection.
He appealed to individuals who benefit from move, to discipline themselves not
to strive to take another one which could have been given to another person in
dire need.
Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, said if government prolongs the
restriction of movement and suspension of social gathering, government would be
left with no option than to continue to support the needy and vulnerable with
basic necessities.
He believed this pandemic period, called for sacrifice from all bodies
including the government to ensure that there was availability of social
justice and fairness for everyone.
“Government recognises the economic impact that this partial lockdown has had
on families in low income communities who are mostly dependent on their daily
income for sustenance; and this is well described by the Akan expression ‘Ankor
a, endidi’.
“Fortunately, the Ghana Buffer Stock Company has a significant amount of food
stock that can alleviate some of the difficulties within our low-income
communities in Accra and Kumasi,” the Minister said.
Most Reverend Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist and
Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana, expressed gratitude to government
and religious bodies for the support rendered to control the effects of the
pandemic in the country.
What the nation was facing with the world, he said, was an opportunity to
deepen the relationship that existed between faith based organisations and
governments to address the challenges of people from the grassroots.
He gave an assurance that the church would identify the most needy households
and individuals and distribute the food items to them.
He also said leadership of the churches in the country would continue to pray
for leaders of the nation, front liners, borders and entire nation to ensure
that the nation emerged victorious in the fight against the pandemic.
Source: GNA