Take advantage of govt’s CARES programme – Ambrose Dery to border residents

The Minister for Interior, Ambrose Dery is asking residents of border communities to rely on the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) Obaatampa programme to alleviate the impact of the continuous closure of land borders.

This follows concerns by residents that their businesses have been affected negatively since the borders were closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the minister, who says the decision is not only affecting residents living along border towns, believes government’s Ghana CARES Obaatampa programme is enough to cushion Ghanaians before the borders are reopened.

“Government is aware of the impact of the closure of land borders has had on border communities, especially on businesses. It must however be noted that the closure does not affect only border residents in particular, but Ghanaian businesses generally. You will realize that there are strict movement regulations. It is in this regard that the government introduced CARES to alleviate the impact on businesses and other sectors of the economy. It is my conviction that Ghanaians in general and those along the borders will take advantage of the CARES to boost their business till the borders are reopened.”

The land borders have been closed since March 2020, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic reaching Ghana.

In a bid to pursue an aggressive process of rebuilding the Ghanaian economy due to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, government has announced the setting up of a GHS 100 billion development programme known as the CARES.

The initiative, which has been named the ‘Obaatanpa Programme’, is aimed at transforming the economy from its current state and also cushioning all sectors that have been hardly hit by the Coronavirus Pandemic.