President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has indicated that even though the Zongo development agenda being undertaken by his administration is a herculean task, the NPP government is poised to transform the lives of over five million Ghanaians scattered in more than three thousand communities across the country.
He said his government continues to commit itself to creating a society of opportunities for all, irrespective of their social circumstances, places of abode or religious creeds.
“The Zongo Development Fund, under the direction of the energetic Minister for Inner City and Zongo Development, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, is pursuing an aggressive development agenda, as set out in Government’s Economic and Social Development Agenda,” the President said on Sunday when he addressed Ghanaians at the Virtual Eid Ul-Fitr celebration at the forecourt of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
He described this year’s Ramadan fast as historic in view of the fact that it was observed without the usual activities and buzz that come with the event, as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“Muslims have had to fast without the traditional iftar, tafsir, tarawih and tahajjud prayers. I know that, for many of you, this has been a very difficult sacrifice to make, since these activities, in the consciousness of all Muslims, cloak the month of Ramadan in sanctity and holiness. And, so, I salute you for these sacrifices that you have made for our collective good. More importantly, you have made these sacrifices, specifically, to save human lives.
“Indeed, the Qur’an states that, and I quote, ‘…if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the whole of humanity…’ (Q:5: 32). Your adherence to the safety protocols that government put in place to fight the virus has, therefore, saved many lives, for which we are all grateful,” he said.
Covid-19 restrictions
The President announced that consultations for easing up Covid-19 restrictions in the country would be concluded this week, adding that he is looking forward to announcing the roadmap towards easing the restriction which has seen churches and schools shut for over two months.
“Stakeholder consultations are taking place on the way forward towards the easing of restrictions so that our social and economic lives can go back to normal. I expect these consultations to conclude this week so that I can announce to Ghanaians a clear roadmap for easing the restrictions. We have to find a way back, but in safety, for we cannot be under these restrictions forever,” the President said.
Giving the state of the virus spread in the country, the President said: “The number of positive cases stands at 6,683, out of 194,763 tests conducted, with 1,998 recoveries. This means that our positivity rate, that is the ratio of confirmed cases to the total number of tests conducted, is 3.43 per cent, which, again, is one of the lowest in Africa, and in the world.”
“Furthermore, virtually all the 32 corona-related deaths that have so far been recorded were of persons with what the doctors call comorbidity, i.e. with other underlying causes and diseases. Most of them died within 24 hours of admission to hospital. May their souls rest in peace. It appears that, by the grace of God, Ghanaians are not dying of this virus in the numbers that were originally anticipated and feared,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said the country has a more robust mechanism for enforcing its central strategy of defeating the virus, through the application of the 3Ts of tracing, testing and treating.
“The tracing teams are more experienced and more efficient; testing capabilities are no longer concentrated in Accra and Kumasi, but spread more evenly across the country in Ho, Tamale, Navrongo, Takoradi and Cape Coast; treating capacity has been considerably enhanced with isolation facilities better distributed across the nation,” he said.
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