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Coronavirus: Akoto Osei stuck in the US after Ghana closed its borders

The Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Anthony Akoto Osei has been stuck in the United States for over a month following Ghana’s border closure.

Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei

The Minister who is also Member of Parliament (MP) for Tafo was on an official assignment in the US before the airport was closed.

This means that until the border is opened, Mr Akoto Osei and others who are stuck outside Ghana cannot return.

The border was closed on March 22, 2020, as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and also to prevent the importation of the disease.

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After the border closure was announced in March, it has been extended three times. The first two extensions were for two months while the third and most recent one is for a month.

Speaking at this year's May Day celebration in the studios of the state-owned Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on Friday, May 1, 2020, the President stated that "With the suspension of all public gatherings still in force and our schools still closed, the government has taken the decision to extend, further, the closure of borders for a month, effective 1 am of 4th May until Sunday, the 31st of May, 2020.

"We know that the overwhelming majority of positive cases came from travelers or contacts of travelers, so, we have no option than to keep our borders closed until we are confident that we have put in place measures to prevent travelers from importing the virus."

By this extension, the Minister will be out of Ghana for at least one more month.

According to Accra-based Citi FM, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has been quoted as saying President Akufo-Addo is not in support of the idea of bringing the Minister back through diplomatic flights.

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The Chief of Staff banned foreign travels for Ministers except under critical conditions 12 days before the borders were closed.

It is unclear if Mr Akoto Osei had travelled out of the country before the Chief of Staff issued this directive.

Some Ghanaians stuck in other countries have been calling on the government to facilitate their return or open the borders for a while to allow them to come back.

One such person is rapper Michael Owusu Addo popularly known as Sarkodie. The MP for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has backed this call.

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