Some of Ghana’s political movers and shakers have aside their ideological differences to support the trustees of the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund as they distribute hot meals to head porters, popularly known as ‘kayayei’ in Accra.

The Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund was established to raise money to complement government’s efforts at confronting and defeating the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Fund’s ‘Feed a kayayo’ project aims to provide one hot meal a day to at least 10,000 ‘kayayei’ in Accra and Kumasi, the areas which have been placed on lockdown as part of measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Over the past few days the trustee of the COVID-19 Private Sector Fund have been joined by some politicians to distribute meals to ‘kayayei’ in Osu, Accra Central and Darkuman, all suburbs of Accra.

The NDC’s Elvis Afriyie Ankrah (former Youth and Sports Minister), Maame Efua Houajeto (deputy National Women’s Organiser) and Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong (former Attorney General) have been working together in unity with the NPP’s Barbara Oteng-Gyasi (Tourism Minister), Sammi Awuku (National Youth Organiser), and Gifty Oware-Aboagye (Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat) to distribute the food packs to the head porters.

It has been a rare show of unity by politicians opting in the national interest to put their ideological differences aside to work for the national cause, which in this case, is the effort to confront and defeat COVID-19.

“Today we joined the team to visit Darkuman and other areas, to provide food to those who cannot get any food in this [lockdown] period,” said Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, the Tourism Minister.

“I think that it is through this means, that we can all support each other. We need to ensure that during this period, everybody will be comfortable to comply with the directive of government, so we can all help save lives and come out from this pandemic together. This is a very good initiative and I will urge more corporate entities to contribute to the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund.”

Former Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, describing himself as a volunteer, pointed that supporting the vulnerable as part of an overall plan to confront the coronavirus crisis demands unity and oneness of purpose.

“We are volunteers, from different backgrounds and political parties and we are just helping to support the needy and vulnerable. This is the time for us to show love and solidarity to our fellow countrymen,” he said.

Former Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, expressed similar sentiments and called for support for the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund.

“This project has been very good. We have been able to reach as many of these [kayayei]. Obviously, with the lockdown, they can’t make their daily livelihoods. So, we need to help them in some way. I think it’s been good, giving them a meal a day, is something that will help cushion the effect of this lockdown.”

National Youth Organiser of the NPP, Sammi Awuku, stressed the need for the entire nation to come together and abide by the lockdown restrictions.

“We only have one Ghana and we only have each other,” he says. “This is the time to work together as one people to support each other through this difficult crisis so that together we can emerge victorious in this battle against coronavirus.”

After less than one week of operation, the ‘Feed-a-kayayo’ project of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund has delivered more than 73,000 hot meal packs and water to head porters in Accra and Kumasi. The fund expects to keep the project running until the lockdown restrictions are lifted.

The Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund is an initiative by private business people who set it up with a seed fund of One Million Ghana Cedis, while campaigning to raise at least One Hundred Million Ghana Cedis from local and international businesses as well as the general public to aid the fight against COVID-19 in Ghana.