Member of Parliament (MP) for Talensi, Mr. Benson Tongo Baba has lamented over the delayed response to his question posed to the Minister of Interior, on the Floor of Parliament regarding to the 83 trainees who had just recovered from COVID-19 and sent back to the training school.
According to Talensi lawmaker, the delayed to his question adversely affected the responses the Minister (Hon. Ambrose Dery) gave on the Floor of Parliament.
To him, answers given by the Minister of Interior to the question was not convincing that, he was expecting him the Interior Minister to further explain areas where these 83 trainees had their test before sending them back to the training school.
Adding that, “We need lots more of the PPEs in the constituency in order to help curb this pandemic”.
He made these comments after having posed an urgent question on the Floor of Parliament regarding to the 83 trainees who tested positive to COVID-19 at Pwalugu Police Training School, but have recovered.
In an exclusive interview with the online news portal of The New Independent, www.thenewindependentonline.com, astute lawmaker of Talensi, Mr. Baba pointed out, “fumigation should have been done in the entire township and the school premises: because, for instance, the trainees do not go to any other market place than the same one that the towns-folks also go”.
Indicating that, “The training school is within a community; and nearer to a very big market, hence feels that the protocols that needed to be observed before sending the trainees to the school were not followed.
This he says is the reason why “my constituents are a bit disturbed that they could bring about the spread of the pandemic to constituency”.
“Mind you Talensi is the gateway to the Upper East region, so Talensi need a lot of PPEs to protect the entire region and beyond the region into other West African countries in the sub-region from this COVID 19”, he emphasized
However, noted that, “as it is now, situations have now normalised and I have not heard any issues so far”.
“That is why I thought I should have filed an urgent question hence filed it within the week of the incident”.
With regards to the Interior Minister response to his question, he noted that if the response to his question had come early, it would have been appropriate, but it took more than a month before the question was responded to that, the follow-ups were just matter of formality, which to him, does not speak well of government and the Interior Ministry.
“No! Obviously, within the last few days people will rush to buy food stuff and other items that they wouldn’t have brought to the school as part of their prospectus and so that was why my concern was very high”, he recounted.
“There is a vibrant market there; therefore the recruits would go there and do their purchasing or even beyond to Bolga central and other places to do that”, he noted.
“But thank God within the community, there have not been any reported incident of COVID 19 as a result of what happened at the training school”, he acknowledged.
Minister’s Response to the urgent question:
The Member of Parliament for Talensi, Mr. Benson Tongo Baba asked the Minister for Interior, Hon. Ambose Dery an urgent question regarding to the measures the Ministry has put in place to stem security agencies in the light of outbreak of COVID19 at the Pwalugu Police Training School.
Reaponding to the Talensi MP question, the Minister of Interior Hon. Dery disclosed that, 83 students of the Pwalugu Police Training school were tested positive and have recovered from the virus.
According to him (Hon. Dery), there is a strict adherence of the use of PPEs and a special task force monitoring to make sure everybody adheres to protocols at establishment of isolation centers at the training schools.
Hon. Dery further explained that, “contact tracing made it possible for them to trace all 83 trainees”: they were isolated and recovered and have returned back on the training grounds.
He therefore urged that there had been more education on the measures and observations of social distance and the use of nose mask to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com/ Delali Gavor/ Parliament
