The Chairman of the Education Committee of Parliament, Kwabena Amankwah Asiamah, on Thursday, November 25, 2021, put up a spirited debate, hailing the quality of the managerial skills of President Akufo-Addo, during the peak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
He said managing the pandemic brought out the best in President Akufo-Addo and put him above any President as the world witnessed how great the Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is in terms of crisis management.
For instance, Hon. Asiamah said the way and manner the President handled the novel coronavirus when it spread across some Senior High Schools in the country was beyond imagination, stressing that his good leadership skills helped brought the situation under control and allayed the fears of parents and students as well.
“The way and manner he [President Akufo-Addo] handled COVID-19 in our schools, especially, the Senior High Schools when they were having their WASSCE final exams were beyond imagination. During the time, the President fed all the students, both public and private with one hot meal a day for several weeks. That is the mark of a good leader who never discriminates”, he noted.
Mr. Asiamah was contributing to the motion for the approval of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government on the floor of Parliament.
Commenting further, he said what made President Akufo-Addo stood out as a great leader during the pandemic was his insistence of supplying all the senior high schools with infrared thermometers, reusable nose masks and some other logistics and ensured that all the schools were also fumigated and disinfected.
These items, he noted, contributed a lot in halting the spread of the virus which brought fear and panic among the populace.
“Many thought the COVID will breakout in our schools. The doom sayers were there when it happened to Accra Girls School when some few students had COVID in those days. People cried for closure of schools but the President ensured that the right measures were put in place to save lives”, he underscored.
In September 2020, the Lancet Commission for COVID-19 on the roll call for countries that have made strides in the fight against novel Coronavirus and saved their citizenry from the devastating effects of the pandemic, hailed Ghana under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, for being quite exceptional in managing the pandemic.
Ghana’s name was written in gold among nations that have used their meager financial resources and under-resourced health systems compared to giant nations such as the United States of America, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Canada, Germany and South Africa among others, to achieve excellence in preventing the further spread of COVID-19.
Ghana’s performance and political leadership as well as that of other nations in the fight against the pandemic came under the microscopic eye of the United Nations after it set up a team of health experts to form the Lancet COVID-19 Commission which was launched on July 9, 2020, to among other things, assist governments, Civil Society Organizations, and UN institutions to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commission aims to offer practical solutions to the four main global challenges posed by the pandemic: suppressing the pandemic by means of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions; overcoming humanitarian emergencies, including poverty, hunger, and mental distress caused by the pandemic; restructuring public and private finances in the wake of the pandemic; and rebuilding the world economy in an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable way that is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Commission chaired by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs in a statement on the occasion of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly published online on September 14, 2020, placed Ghana among the highly recognized countries that did great in the fight against COVID-19 despite challenges in its health system as well as funding.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com
