Beggars In Bolgatanga Defy COVID- 19 Protocols

Beggars at the Bolgatanga lorry station continue to ask for alms at the gates of the market without recourse to the protocols of social distancing and wearing of face masks.

The beggars, including; children, lactating mothers and the aged, said they could not afford to buy sanitizers and the face masks.

Mr Apania Kadire Issah, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Federation of the Physically Disabled, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Bolgatanga, said arrangements and sensitization programmes to convince the beggars to join any of the Disabled Associations, to be trained in vocational skills to improve their lives had fallen on deaf ears.

Speaking on procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect members during the COVID- 19 period, the Chairman indicated that there were no funds to purchase the items and called on government to support the Federation to acquire PPE for members.

He said five groups of the disabled, including; the Ghana Association for the Blind, Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled, the hearing impaired and members of the mentally ill Association in the Upper East Region, were unhappy that they did not receive any support from government.

“In spite of the challenge, the Federation, through the Department of Social Welfare was able to mobilize some money from the Assembly Common fund to sensitize its members on the pandemic and purchase PPE for those who were present at the programmes in the various communities in the Bolgatanga Municipality,” he said.

Ms Mercy Pwavra, the Bolgatanga Municipal Director of the Department of Social Welfare, said though the outfit had not procured any PPE for persons with disability, it was out of place for them to go on the streets begging and urged them to link up with their leadership for support.

Meanwhile, Mr Samuel Sabuli, the Programmes Officer of the Christian Children of Canada (CCFC), in an earlier interview during a donation of PPE to various health institutions in the region, indicated that people living with disability were more vulnerable to the disease and needed special attention.

He, therefore, called for collaborative efforts by all to fight the Coronavirus pandemic.

---GNA