The Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) has said that the government must not justify the charging of passengers’ mandatory testing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) because other countries are doing same.
Earlier on, the Bureau had raised red flags over government’s charge of the mandatory COVID-19 testing at the airports, stating that such an act is in violation of the International Health Regulation (IHR) 2005 which forbids the charging of travelers for any medical examination to ascertain their status.
Speaking to Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, Executive Director of the Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada said: “As a people, we need to be guided by these regulations. If some countries begin to choose or select which regulations they will follow, we will not have an effective global governance. It is important that we let these regulations guide us. If other countries will go against it, Ghana must be different and set a shining example to the rest of the violating nations.
If a handful are violating, why should we use that as a basis to do so to our people or to travelers here. If every country said they were going to apply measures that they deem fit, can we live in this world? Can you travel to another country successfully? So we need to collectively be ruled or governed by the tenets of these international regulations”.
When quizzed by Samuel Eshun if there were any sanctions against countries that violate the regulations, he answered that he was not aware of any sanctions. However, he hoped that in the next revision of the regulations, the body will come up with the right sanctions.
“It doesn’t have a robust accountability compliance for enforcement, oversight and accountability. I think the body must assess these issues and find ways to help. It started in 1961 and they revised or strengthened it in 2005. If they get the chance to revise it, these are aspects they must put in punitive measures of violation of the regulations”.
The Government of Ghana announced that all travelers arriving into the country via the Kotoka International Airport must pay $150 (¢868) for Covid-19 testing.
Many people have complained that the fee for the COVID-19 test is outrageous.
However, defending the $150 fee for the testing, the Deputy Minister for Health Dr Benard Oko-Boye described it as a good bargain since “nothing is more expensive than contracting Covid-19 itself”. He also argued that the decision was taken after assessing charges by other countries.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
