Jomoro MP Dorcas Affo-Toffey has demanded the opening of the country’s land borders as she cries marriages are collapsing.
She also adds that the continuous closure of the borders is causing some people to commit suicide over hardships.
Land borders were closed last year as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.
According to the lawmaker, divorce and suicide cases are on the rise in her constituency which borders Ivory Coast.
Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery in answering a question filed by the MP stated that government will only consider re-opening Ghana’s land borders if the security situation within the sub-region improves and based on the advice from the COVID-19 experts.
But speaking to Starr News, the Jomoro MP stated her constituents cannot wait any longer and will hit the streets very soon.
She said “their livelihoods have been really affected, businesses have been closed and a lot of people have moved from the area. Marriages are broken, people have committed suicide because they’ve borrowed a lot of money from the banks and they are not able to repay. And so it’s a lot of hardship going on in the area. So, anytime I visit my constituency especially if I go to the border town, like Elubo for instance, a lot of people will come to me for different kinds of help like money, food, etc. it’s something they really need.”
“When it first started, I did a lot of donations, I gave the churches, to help because we didn’t know it was going to take long. So, when I go there, when I see them, I’m not happy.”
She, however, noted that “right now because of the answer that the minister has given, he has actually given me something to think about.”
She went on “every time I visit, the constituents want to demonstrate but I’ve been calming them down. I told them that since I have these questions coming up they should be calm and wait till I finish with the minister.”
“If we find out that nothing is going to be done, then we move to the next action which will be maybe demonstration, doing press conferences and teaming up with other members of parliament who are also in border towns,” she ended.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5fm
