Ghana is not politically… economically ready for a lockdown over Coronavirus scare

It is an undeniable fact that the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus ( COVID-19) has shaken the foundation of human society and instill fear in many souls.

It is also an undeniable fact that the virus has claimed the lives of many people and pushed many into isolation and quarantine.

The demands of the government to prioritize the lives of their citizens over any other thing has forced some to introduce a complete lockdown.

A lockdown is more or less like a stricter curfew that restricts the movement of people although it can have some flexibility.

Ghana has so far recorded 132 reported cases of the Coronavirus and some people have begun asking the government to introduce a complete lockdown.

There are two solid reasons why a lockdown for Ghana is not an ideal solution. First and foremost, our economy is largely informal and most of the citizenry are informal workers (farmers, welders, hairdressers, tailors, petty traders, etc)

Aside from that our political atmosphere is liberal and the democracy we practice is hugely ingrained in the minds of many who will deem any move to put the nation under a lockdown undemocratic.

The minority caucus in parliament is a strong formidable force that vehemently opposes the ideas and policies of the ruling government. In effect, any move to put the nation under a movement restriction will jeopardize the peaceful democratic atmosphere we have.

The president may have good intentions to put the nation under lockdown but it will not augur well for them as a political party that is seeking reelection in December.

The opposition party will catapult on that a bolster their political message with it describing the current government as a tyrant, insensitive and hyperreactive.

On the other side, Ghana’s economy is driven by the informal sector. The work of the farmers and other artisans to the growth of the economy cannot be underestimated.

A complete lockdown will leave many families starving because our market system is not as structured as other countries. Our delivery system is not robust and most of the population leaves from hand to mouth.

If we attempt a complete lockdown, our economic fortunes will drop, our people will die and there may be political unrest.

Many things drive the growth of the nation thus a blanket approach will never be appropriate.

There are other alternatives we can consider but all will depend on the good judgment of the president based on concrete data, statistics and a better understanding of the way of Ghanaians.

A lockdown is never the best for us. A lockdown will be a knee-jerk approach and it will ultimately rip the nation apart.

Our social support system is not the best thus many will be financially incapacitated to endure a lockdown.