The Greater Accra Region Minister, Henry Quartey has directed the Police and other security personnel to close down all beaches from Ada to the coastal boundary with the Central Region indefinitely.

This is to ensure sustained compliance with all Covid-19 safety protocols especially during the Easter festivities.

“President Akufo-Addo has on several occasions in his address to the nation indicated the need to avoid going to pubs, night clubs and especially the beaches but people will not listen, so in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and the IGP, I am sending a stern warning to all of you, on Friday Easter holiday please stay off the beaches, there would be heave security deployment all the way from Ada to the coastal boundary with the central region,” he said.

He also warned that those caught defying the directive will be arrested, fined, or prosecuted.

Mr Henry Quartey was speaking to JoyNews on the sidelines of a crunch closed-door meeting with former Regional Ministers to solicit their ideas on the 'Let's Make Accra Work' project.

From bad road networks to poor drainage systems and finally the big one - filth, the project seeks to tackle key issues hampering growth in the capital.

"Accra is a cosmopolitan area and indeed challenges we encounter may not be the same compared to other regions but we need to make it work.

"After being sworn in by the President I began engaging stakeholders, I extended a hand to the Former Regional Ministers and members of the Council of State and the beauty of this stakeholders engagement is that persons I have engaged are from both sides of the political fraternity and so that strengthens the unity for us."

He hinted at his intentions to constitute a regional consultative committee that will put together a working document for Accra.

"I intend to as a matter of urgency come up with a regional consultative committee, which will comprise of professionals just like cabinet. They will meet once or twice every month and begin to put together a working document for Accra and advise me on the right steps to take," he said.

To address the issue of poor sanitation within the capital Mr Quartey said, "There would be operation clean your frontage coming up very soon and that we expect all and sundry on including corporate institutions to come on board.

"Like my boss, I am in a hurry but you will agree with me that I have to put some mechanisms in place, so very soon we will launch the 'Let's Make Accra Work' document."