The closure of the country’s land borders on Saturday March 21, 2020, after two years, has generated so much reactions from different quarters within and outside the country.
The announcement by president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the border closure, was principally to stop the importation of Covid-19 into the country, as well as its spread to save the lives of Ghanaians.
It cannot be denied that, the border closure did not achieve any gains, but many have argued that, it took too long for the government to heed to incessant calls to reopen the borders.
Former president John Dramani Mahama, in a Facebook post on Saturday March 19, 2022, also added his voice to calls for the reopening of the border, when he said “Government’s announcement that it is deliberating at Cabinet about a possible opening of our land borders is long overdue. Let’s open the land borders now.”
Following the comments of the former president, president Akufo-Addo, on Sunday March 27, announced the re-opening of Ghana’s land borders.
According to President Akufo-Addo, this will allow for the flow of human traffic through neighbouring countries after they were closed in March 2020.
In our opinion and as was shared by former president Mahama, it made no sense to still keep the borders closed, because the main objective had long been achieved with the reduction in the number of Covid-19 cases, beside two years is such a long time to shut down a nation’s borders.
Countries that were badly hit in the peak of the pandemic, had relaxed all restrictions, including the wearing of nose mask, so why must it take Ghana, which numbers in terms of infection and death, was very minimal two years for the president to listen to admonitions.
It took the intervention of former president Mahama, for Akufo-Addo to act. We accordingly expect Mr Mahama to talk more, as that is the only way Akufo-Addo, will listen.
