The Convention People’s Party has asked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to refocus the development pattern of the country with the government’s One District, One Factory (1D1F) policy.
The CPP says “there is a serious warning in the skewed kwashiorkor-like nation building efforts we have made”, urging the country to learn “better from the growth-pole theory of Francois Perroux which appear to undergird the audacious 1D1F programme.”
The CPP made the call in a statement issued after a meeting by political parties held at the instance of President Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House to discuss issues of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The statement, which was signed by James Kwabena Bomfeh, the party’s acting General Secretary, also urged the government to “consider some bailout or hand-out for the masses of our suffering people who fall below the basic poverty line.”
It added: “These hard times are going to be hardest for the vulnerable and marginalized among us.”
School curriculum
The party further asked the government to make personal and public hygiene a compulsory part of basic school curriculum, asking Ghanaians to stick to the social distancing, hand washing, alcohol-based sanitizer use, among others, “to reduce and/or stop the infection spread since our hospital beds are limited to accommodate large numbers.”
“It will be chaotic and disastrous if we fail to join the efforts of the government in this fight,” the party said.
Security–civilian relation
The party further called for peaceful co-existence between the citizens and the security personnel who are ensuring the enforcement of the country’s partial lockdown. The call follows some reported cases of civilians’ brutalization by a section of the security forces who are enforcing the lockdown.
“While asking the civilian population to be law-abiding and observe strict adherence to the directives given by the President in the lockdown of parts of Ghana, we admonish the joint Police/Military task force to give a human face to enforcement.
“No one should dare the capacity of the men and women in uniform in these trying times. And as much as possible, they should also comport themselves with the highest level of restraint. No abuses/excesses,” the party said.
