Youths in the Ketu South Municipality have called on the government to open the country’s land borders to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy.
They said the economic and other hardships caused by the over a year and a half border closure occasioned by the pandemic continued to be unbearable and even worse especially for vulnerable groups.
The recommendation was made at a day’s training of trainers workshop on civic rights and responsibilities of women, youth and persons with disability (PWDs) relative to COVID-19 under the Green and Inclusive Recovery Project organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with funding support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The workshop which had participants from special interest groups like women, PWDs and youths saw activities like presentations from various facilitators, short documentaries on COVID-19 effects on interest groups, and group discussions on the effect and recovery from the pandemic.
Mr Divine Kporxah who presented on behalf of the youth said the effects of the pandemic as outlined by all the special groups in the border Municipality which included loss of jobs, food insecurity, the collapse of businesses and broken family ties were a result of the closure of land borders stressing, Ketu South was still under lockdown needing government intervention.
“For us here in Ketu South, our day-to-day economic activity is dependent on crossing the border daily to transact business. Businesses of head porters, drivers, traders, phone repairers, forex bureau operators, food retailers have all been affected. Every other business in Ketu South has gone down and we know these are the drivers of the local economy. We’re virtually locked down.
And from the presentation on recovery from the COVID-19 effects, we as citizens have to honour our tax obligations so the local Assembly can generate funds internally to provide some of our development needs. How is that possible when businesses are down and people are looking to the government for support? Government should open and regulate the borders so COVID-19 protocols are observed and people’s livelihoods are protected.”
Mr Kenneth Kponor, Regional Director, NCCE in an address said the pandemic and its resultant directives including border closures had threatened the very foundation of every facet of human survival with Ketu South greatly affected thus, the Municipality’s choice in Volta for the project believing, “solutions generated from the discussion here would serve as the basis for dealing with similar challenges elsewhere in the Region.”
Mr Redeemer Mawunyo Sosa, the Municipal Planning Officer named local economy, people, infrastructure and governance as the four interconnected pillars to underpin the Municipality’s recovery from the pandemic and enhance its resilience against future shocks saying, the Assembly intended to increase revenue from all sources to support the implementation of programmes and projects.
Dr Henrietta Asante-Sarpong, Director of Research, Gender and Equality, NCCE said the NCCE/UNDP project aimed to look at the effect of COVID-19 on particularly special interest groups and contribute to improving their participation in the planning, budgeting and recovery measures at the local level.
The participants during role play and simulation exercises using flashcards demonstrated their understanding of their rights and responsibilities and the need to participate in COVID-19 measures put in place by the Municipal Assembly and promised to take the training to their colleagues.
Source: GNA