After hundreds of residents of Elubo in the Western Region staged a demonstration protesting the closure of the border between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, the Regional Minister, Kobby Okyere Darko Mensah, says the borders will remain closed.

The residents there are demanding the borders be opened to ensure that the livelihoods of the citizens in towns and their surrounding communities are restored.

However, responding to their agitation he stated that the borders will remain closed especially now that there is the threat of the Delta variant.

He said the measure is to aid the country control the spread of the virus in the country.

Meanwhile, Jomoro MP, Dorcas Affo Toffey, who led demonstrators alleges that the closure of borders has brought economic hardship to her constituents.

She called for government support to help alleviate the said hardship.

“I am not inciting anybody we’re simply begging the president to do something for them. If the borders are not going to be reopened anytime soon there should be some sort of intervention, maybe some funding, maybe some feeding, anything that will aid them, anything that will help the people.

“It is what we are saying. After all they’re matured, they know. So if somebody comes to them and lets them know why the borders have remained closed they’d understand,” she said.

However, the Western Regional Minister says her actions were politically motivated and only meant to blackmail the government.

“The NDC Member of Parliament for Jomoro cannot lead a demonstration and tell us that it is because of hardship. She only led the demonstration because she wants to gain politically from it and that is wrong because Covid is dangerous and that is the reason why the borders are closed.

“So I believe that it is unfortunate but these borders can never be opened unless the Covid team says so. So Covid is not gone, we have the Delta variant and it’s still killing people. So we will not give in to such blackmail,” he said.

It has been 17 months since President Akufo-Addo announced the closure of both land and sea borders as part of efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

You recall last month, residents of Ketu South embarked on a similar demonstration for the border there to be re-opened.