Large crowd throng Kumasi food distribution centre

The distribution of government-sponsored meals at the McKewon Distribution Centre in Kumasi has been stopped, following the invasion of the centre by residents.

The exercise, which is to assist the vulnerable in the Asokwa municipality, was suspended yesterday following the overcrowding of the centre.

The items distributed included rice, beans, oil, eggs, sardines and tomato puree.

As early as 5 a.m., members of the community had besieged the centre to receive their share of the government’s food aid to ease their burden of staying at home without working, after the government announced partial lockdown in the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi metropolitan areas.

The place was so packed that the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), which was doing the distribution, had to call in the military to help disperse the crowd.

Security

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Asokwa Municipal NADMO Coordinator, Mr Eric Nana Akosah, said the overcrowding defeated the directive on social distancing, so the organisers had to call for military assistance to bring the crowd under control and stop the distribution altogether.

According to him, the Asokwa municipality had designated five centres for the distribution of the food items and said the McKewon Centre was for residents of Asokwa Old and New towns and Ahinsan.

Confusion

However, Mr Akosah said during the distribution, it was observed that residents from Asafo, Oforikrom and Anloga, who were in different districts, all came to join the queue to receive the items.

He explained that the massing up of people from the other districts caused the overcrowding.

Some of the people who visited the centre claimed they had heard a minister on a radio station asking people to go there for food supplies.

Way forward

Consequently, Mr Akosah said NADMO had decided to share the rest of the items to residents from house to house in order to satisfy the social distancing protocol and also avoid any overcrowding at the centre.

He said with the exception of the McKewon centre, the rest of the centres managed to distribute their items to the beneficiary communities without any challenge.

MCE

The Municipal Chief Executive of Asokwa, Mr Akwanuasah Gyimah, also expressed surprise at the massing up of people at the centre.

He said the assembly had earlier sent vans around to inform the people of the centres in the municipality and those who were supposed to be at McKewon for their items and as such “We were not expecting to see this crowd here today.”

Mr Gyimah said it was sad to see people do not observe the protocols on the prevention on the spread of the coronavirus disease and were taking things for granted.

He asked the residents to take the protocols seriously and abide by them as the virus was real and no respecter of persons.