Prosecute Carlos Ahenkora over breaches of COVID-19 protocols -Occupy Ghana

Civil Society Group, Occupy Ghana is calling for the prosecution of a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah for callously breaking the COVID-19 protocols by visiting a registration center in his Tema West constituency whilst testing for positive for the virus and was supposed to be on self-isolation.

The pressure group is also urging the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) to withdraw the candidature of Mr. Ahenkorah as the Tema West constituency aspiring Member of Parliament(MP) in the December 7 elections.

In a statement, the group said “his actions show gross disrespect to the pronouncements of the President concerning keeping the populace safe, and his behaviour makes a mockery of any enactments government has made in the fight against the coronavirus.”

At the same time, it said “this is especially worrying in the wake of the political primaries, which in the main, also ignored the law and common sense of social and physical distancing, and the obvious struggle of the Electoral Commission to enforce these rules in the ongoing voter registration. We fear that the combination of these events, and the irresponsible conduct of government officials such as Mr. Ahenkorah will lead to an increase in infections and possibly, deaths”

Expressing concern if government fails to act, it said “if no steps are taken against Mr Ahenkorah, it will cast the government as not just being hypocritical, but as being incapable of keeping the citizenry safe and incompetent to enforce laws it has made. Many have been taken to task for doing way less than Mr. Ahenkora has done, including not wearing a mask while driving alone.”

It emphasized that “we therefore respectfully call upon the President to remove him from office forthwith. We also call on the police to investigate his actions, and if found to have breached the law, to prosecute him. We also call on the New Patriotic Party to withdraw him as their candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections.”

Source:MyNewsGh.com/Stephen Zoure/2020