Lawra, (UW/R), March 24, GNA – The Lawra Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) has constituted a task force to enforce the social distancing protocol in market centres in the Municipality as part of efforts to control the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
The task force consisted of the personnel from the Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service, Ghana Health Service, Fire Service, and the Ghana Revenue Authority among others.
Mr Martin Bomba-Ire, the Lawra Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) revealed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Lawra on Friday.
He was reacting to an alleged scuffle between the security personnel and traders at Babile on a weekly market day.
The MCE explained that the task force was to ensure that the traders strictly complied with the social distancing directive of the president to control the spread of the Covid-19.
This was after the MUSEC, in consultation with the Paramount Chief of the Lawra Traditional Area, banned the weekly marketing activities in all markets in the Municipality for about four weeks.
Mr Bomba-Ire said the markets in the municipality, including Lawra, Babile, Zambo and Ermon among others were closed down to help enforce the social distancing protocol.
He said it was also to prevent the traders and people of Burkina Faso who attended markets in the municipality from possible importation of the Coronavirus into the municipality.
“If you go to the Black Volta now there are areas where there is no water, people just walk across, so to be able to control the people from Burkina coming and our people going is a difficult matter and the only thing that we are unable to control is that market”, he explained.
It was alleged that attempt by the security personnel to prevent the traders from accessing the Babile market on Wednesday resulted in the security personnel allegedly beating the traders and killing their animals, which they brought to the market to sell.
The MCE said though the security applied some level of force to prevent the people from entering the market, he could not confirm whether they killed people’s animals or not.
Mr Bomba-Ire indicated that the MUSEC had met to discuss effective ways of enforcing the closure of the market in the municipality without harming the traders, which led to the formation of the task force.
Meanwhile, Mr Alex Yirkye, the Assembly Member for the Babile Electoral Area denied that the security personnel attacked the traders and killed their animals.
The Babile market was one of the major markets in the Upper West Region serving traders both within and outside the region including those from Burkina Faso.
It was noted for its livestock trading but was closed for about four weeks, forcing the traders and the public to carry out their marketing activities along the roadside and the edges of the market.
GNA