ASEPA to Akufo-Addo: Apologise, dismiss handlers for risking your life at Sir John’s funeral
Mensah Thompson, the executive director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), has said President Akufo-Addo must render an unqualified apology to Ghanaians for risking his life at Sir John’s funeral.
Videos and photos making rounds on social media show most of the mourners were without nose masks and disregarded social distance protocols at the funeral.
Speaking to Kojo Mensah on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday 8 June, the ASEPA boss said the handlers of the president must also be sacked for exposing him to danger.
“The first thing is for the president to apologise for this mishap for not just breaching the protocols but for putting himself at risk because he is a national asset. As we speak, he is an asset for the state, the state is responsible for everything about him,” Thompson said.
He added: “Beyond that I think somebody must be responsible for this mishap, either the director of state protocol, the organisers of the funeral, the national security coordinator or the handlers of the president and vice-president. Someway, somehow somebody must be responsible, somebody must lose his job for this, you can’t allow the commander-in-chief into such a very risky zone.”
Arrest organisers of Sir John’s Funeral
Meanwhile, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has condemned “the total disregard” for COVID-19 protocols at the funeral of the late CEO of the Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, also known as Sir John.
The GMA is unhappy such “super spreader” event was organised at a time when the country is still racing against time to meet its target of vaccinating about 20 million citizens by the end of 2021 against the deadly viral disease.
A statement issued and signed by the president and general-secretary of the GMA is calling on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to probe and prosecute the organisers of the funeral “without fear or favour to serve as a deterrent to others”.
“The GMA condemns such activities that violate our protocols and has the tendency to reverse all gains made in our fight against COVID-19,” the statement said.
It added: “We call on the law enforcement agencies to investigate and deal with the organisers of this and any similar events to serve as a deterrent to others who intend to endanger the public health of our nation. We call on the Inspector General of Police to act without fear or favour in this regard.”
Source: Kessbenonline.com
