The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto has said the partial lockdown announced by the government does not require Ghanaians to stock up food.
Speaking at a press briefing in Accra today [Monday], the Minister said the lockdown will last for only two weeks, thus stocking up food is not necessary.
“…There is enough food in the system, people do not need to stock up because this is not a war situation. We are talking about just two weeks and if we are successful with what we want to do, within the period of two weeks, we will be back to normal.”
“There is no need to stock up. If there was not enough in the system and we had to wait for imports then I would have said you would have to cover yourself and the family but there is absolutely no need because we have more than enough to feed the people of this country. This is only a two-week-hiatus and I do not believe it requires a behaviour of mad rush,” the Minister clarified.
Panic buying before lockdown needless – Ambrose Dery
Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, over the weekend expressed similar sentiments, saying the sudden rush for food items was needless.
“I have just gone around a few places today and there appears to be some misunderstanding about some of the things. The rush to buy things is totally unnecessary because the measures have made it possible that you can go to the market and buy food and that wherever food is sold would be open so the rush before the deadline is totally unnecessary and a misunderstanding.”
Markets in Accra, Kumasi choked ahead of lockdown
Most Ghanaians trooped into town to undertake certain essential services such as buying food items from and also patronize the services of the banks ahead of the two-week lockdown on Saturday.
The lockdown of parts of Accra was announced by the President in an address on Friday night.
This announcement resulted in massive human and vehicular traffic across the capital on Saturday.
Various banking halls were packed with people while ATMs in Madina had long queues as customers waited to withdraw their money.
Citi News‘ Ann Shirley Ziwu who visited the Madina market on Saturday reported that hundreds of shoppers had trooped in to stock up foodstuff pending the commencement of the partial lockdown which begun today, Monday.
In Kumasi, the situation was not different where Citi News’ Ashanti Regional Correspondent, Edward Oppong Marfo reported that panic buying had hit major market centres in the Regional capital, as some residents had begun getting various items needed until the restrictions are lifted.
One shopper said she had come to shop against any challenge the lockdown will have upon her feeding, bearing in mind her safety in the wake of the pandemic.
“I just want to stock up a bit so that in case of any problem, I will be sorted. The directive is a step in the right directive even though it is so strict. So we will abide and know the next step. A lot of people are here because of fear and panic; they don’t want to starve. I am shopping so that I will quietly be in the house in case of any eventualities.”
At the bank one customer intimated that “based on what we heard last night, so my wife is at the market to shop and I am here to withdraw some money to see what future holds for us.”
