Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said government’s decision to ease restrictions are not driven by the interests of the Electoral Commission (EC) nor the National Identification Authority (NIA).
He said the development is guided by data and advice from all stakeholders particularly health experts.
According to him every decision being taken prioritises the safety and well-being of the citizenry.
Speaking on Accra based JoyNews, Mr Nkrumah emphasised that the activities of the said bodies will be guided by the direction of the government going forward.
“I am not too sure that these conversations that we are having necessarily are informed by what the EC or the NIA seek to do. Whatever they do will have to be as a consequence of where we are going.
“So if where we are going says that we are doing Z, Y or Z, all other bodies will have to draw from where we are going,” he said.
His comment follows concerns by a section of the general public and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is conniving with the EC to rig the upcoming compilation of a new voters’ register, an event which was held off following the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The NIA was severely criticised for continuing its Ghana Card registration exercise in the Eastern Region despite the ban on social gatherings without observing social distancing protocols.
But Mr Oppong Nkrumah has ruled out political considerations as far as the possible lifting of restrictions are concerned.
“The President himself has had to suspend his political activities, His regional tours. I am aware that he had about one of the regional tours slated for about a week or two before the initial lockdown. He had to suspend all of those ones,” the Information Minister said.
He further explained that “politics can wait. Human lives and the economy subsequently will take precedence over politics.”
Ghana’s case count for the coronavirus stands at 8,070 with 2,947 recoveries and 36 deaths.
