Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi has explained President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s ban on weddings, concerts, and parties. He said the ban on weddings, does not stop people from getting married.
“When it comes to marriage, what the President has said is that what, in Ghana, we call wedding, the full-blown wedding where we have a big party with a reception and people dancing and people eating, sitting at reception tables, etc., that is what has been banned,” he said.
Addressing the media at a COVID-19 press briefing on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah said “We’ve got a lot of requests about so what if somebody is having a church service, which is allowed, and they choose to bless their marriage there, as part of the church service? I’m not sure that is what has been banned. It’s the wedding. The full-blown wedding with its reception and social activity associated with it is what has been banned.”
The MP who doubles as the Information Minister-designate stated that the ban on funerals does not mean people cannot bury their dead ones.
“The president did not ban burial service because the activity of burial, we actually encourage to go on”, he said, adding: “What is banned is the funeral where typically in the Ghanaian community we will all gather, shake hands, announcements of people, then they’ll call for a song, people will come and dance, where there is a little party associated with it. That is what has been banned,” he stated.
Nana Addo bans social gathering
In his 23rd address to the nation on measures taken by the government to see to the curb of the rise of COVID-19 cases, Nana Addo stated that there was going to be an imposition of the restriction on social gatherings.
“So, fellow Ghanaians, until further notice, funerals, weddings, concerts, theatrical performances, and parties are banned. Private burials, with no more than twenty-five (25) people, can take place, with the enforcement of the social distancing, hygiene, and mask-wearing protocols.
“Beaches, night clubs, cinemas, and pubs continue to be shut. Our borders by land and sea remain closed.
“However, schools and religious gatherings remain open but with the assurance that laid down protocols will be observed whiles offices and workplaces can operate but on a shift basis,” the President noted.
