The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Roads and Transport Committee has accused the government of conspiring with Frontier Healthcare Services Limited to fleece travellers at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) with the Covid testing facility
The PCR testing regime at the country’s airport, he said, is no longer relevant.
Hon. Kwame Governs Agbodza issued a statement on Monday, March 21, 2022, charging the government to immediately halt the testing activity at the airport.
People, he said, must be encouraged to vaccinate and observe other covid protocols rather than to pay ¢400 for a needless test in this catastrophic economic situation.
“Government is in cahoots with frontiers to take money from Ghanaians just as a form of income. It has nothing to do with health anymore… I had my two vaccinations and a booster, what is the point of taking GH¢400 from me for a covid test by frontiers,” he qizzed?
The lawmaker joins a growing list of Ghanaians including former President Mahama who have called on the government to immediately review the country’s Covid-19 PCR testing at the KIA.
In a Facebook post over the weekend, Mr Mahama revealed that when he travelled to London last month, he was not required to take a Covid-19 PCR test before boarding the British Airways flight.
However, returning home, he was informed by the airline that he would have to take a PCR test before boarding the flight as a requirement.
“It cost £90 to have the test done. I was also informed that I would not be checked in for the flight back unless I filled an online form and paid a fee of $50,” adding that international arrivals, who are vaccinated “must book another $50 PCR test to be conducted on arrival in Accra,” he said.
He described these measures as “ridiculous.”