The Ghana Police Service says it cannot shepherd the planned demonstration organised by the #FixTheCountry movement on May 9.
According to them, the assembly goes against the ban on public gatherings currently in place as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Some unhappy Ghanaians mostly made up of the youth earlier notified the police of their intent to embark on a demonstration following an uproar on social media.
The protest is to vent their spleens over what they describe as a failure on the part of successive governments to improve the lives of the citizenry.
In the letter signed by 20 individuals, they explained that the date, May 9, was selected to capture the restless spirit of the over 126 Ghanaians who lost their lives some 20 years ago at the Accra Sports Stadium due to the “institutionalized incompetence and disregard for Ghanaian lives.”
As well as to commemorate the 26th Anniversary of the anti-government Kume Preko Demonstration of May 11, 1995 which was championed by President Akufo-Addo, Charles Wereko-Brobby, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Akoto Ampaw and Napoleon Abdulai.
JoyNews/AdomNews · #FixTheCountry: We can’t guarantee that protestors will adhere to Covid-19 – Police
However, the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of Accra Regional Police Command says the imposition of restrictions means the demonstration has to be halted and has communicated same in a written letter in response.
“The police will not be able to provide the necessary security looking at the spread of Covid-19 and the kind of dangers that it poses to members of the public should they attend this demonstration,” DSP Effia Tenge said on Joy FM.
Speaking on Top Story, DSP Tenge explained that her outfit will seek a court order to back its stance if the agitated youth decide to defy the directive to embark on what she believes is a potential super-spreader.
Despite the detailed plan enumerated by the protestors in line with Covid-19 protocols, the police say “there is no way that we can be able to guarantee for a fact that such a large demonstrating public” will adhere to such a plan.
Meanwhile, conveners of the protest say are disappointed by the development.
One of them, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, told Evan Mensah that they will use dialogue to remind the police as to why they cannot be cowered while pledging to act in conformity with the constitution.
What is #FixTheCountry?
#FixTheCountryNow has been topping twitter trends for the past 48 hours.
Social media users, largely the youth, in their posts have been highlighting some of these inadequacies.
Despite efforts by government including the Nation Builders’ Corp (NABCO), National Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP) and other commitments towards investing in the growing human capital, some Twitter users say the impact is not felt on the ground.
Dominant in the sentiments shared on Twitter are rising youth unemployment, dilapidated health system, skyrocketing home-renting structure, poor road networks among others.
