Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has attributed Ghana’s success story so far in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to the sterling leadership of President Akufo-Addo.
Dr Bawumia was commending all agencies, departments and organisations that have collaborated in the fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus at an appraisal meeting for members of the National Security Operation COVID-19 Safety Task Force in Accra on Friday (18 September 2020).
He said the president’s clear marching orders to members of government, including the Economic Management Team, have been to do whatever it takes to save lives.
This firm leadership, Vice-President Bawumia maintained, has been the catalyst for all decisions taken in the fight against COVID-19, and has saved the country from possible disaster.
Abiding force
“I highly commend all the agencies, departments and bodies that have worked together in this COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that we have kept it under reasonable control,” Dr Bawumia said. “We can all be proud of ourselves.
“But I can confidently state, without any shadow of doubt, that President Akufo-Addo’s firm, focused leadership in these trying times has saved us so far from the disaster that has been seen elsewhere. His focus, his marching order – to save lives, no matter the cost – has been the abiding force that has saved us all,” he said.
“We can be proud of ourselves on our handling of COVID as affirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO): that we are one of the best-performing countries in the world. From the decision on the early lockdown, Ghana adopted the three Ts (testing, tracing and treatment), enhanced contact tracing, and even the use of drones.
“At every stage of our fight, the president has been at the forefront, guiding and ensuring that all our decisions are geared towards saving lives. We can bring back the economy, but we cannot bring back the lives we would have lost if we had not focused on saving lives.”
Inter-agency model
The Vice-President expressed the government’s appreciation for the inter-agency partnerships, and gratitude to the organisations and bodies that have collaborated and offered support, including the Ghana Football Association, Church of Pentecost, other faith-based groups and civil society organisations.
Giving an overview of the steps and outcomes so far, the Minister of National Security, Honourable Albert Kan Dapaah, and his deputy, Honourable Henry Quartey, hailed efforts by health personnel which have led to the highest recovery rate for COVID-19 in the West African sub-region and one of the highest in the world, at almost 98%.
Wilberforce Asare / Asaase Radio
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