Daily Heritage October 2

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DAILY HERITAGE MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2017
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Enough of oil - how about
resource on the streets?
BY SAMUEL ALESU-DORDZ
ENOUGH OF the
gushing and blushing
over the Ghanaian
victory in the maritime
boundary dispute
between Ghana
and La Côte d’Ivoire. I have heard
some talk of taking active steps to
negotiate and delimit our boundaries
with Togo and so on.
That is all well and good. But
while we are at it, we need to remind
ourselves that we still have a
lot of resource battles to fight.
And the most important of
these battles has to do with the
boys and girls who for one reason
or the other have found themselves
on the street.
Take a moment, drive late at
night in Accra at about 11pm
over 12 pm and guess who you
are likely to find on the streetboys
and girls. These young ones
can be found doing a variety of
things.
They are either begging; or offering
to clean your windscreen or
selling gum or sweets. It is not
only at night. Look around traffic
in the mornings. You find children
of school age being held
hostage in broad day light by their
blind and disabled relatives. And
we are all looking on.
The invasion of the street by
these children at such late hours
should be a cause for concern.
Remember, human beings are
the most important resource on
the face of the earth. And that is
the reason we should stop gushing
about oil and all the prospects
it provides; and redirect our energies
towards getting as many children
as possible out of the roads.
These children, like all other
children, deserve a good life. And
we must find a way of making
that happen with or without
•The invasion of the street by the youth should be a cause for concern
parental support and presence.
There are lots of countries
without an ounce of our resource
wealth; and yet they are doing
well. They are leading in terms of
intellectual property and innovation.
Mindsets and education alone
have transformed landlocked
countries and arid landscapes into
financial hubs and food baskets.
Someone has to speak for
these kids. And I think it should
be fair to say we have not done
enough. I would not be the first
person to talk about child
streetism in Ghana. And hopefully
I would not be the last.
In writing this piece, I did
some google searches. A lot of
writing and commenting has been
done on this. I am just wondering
if it is worth writing more. What
we need is some form of action.
The future of this nation cannot
and should not be allowed to
be on the street. This is not right
and fair.
The state has an obligation towards
its children. The constitution
places the obligation to
ensure the well being of children
on their parents, the legislature
and the executive
The presence of the children
They are either begging; or offering to clean your windscreen
or selling gum or sweets. It is not only at night. Look around
traffic in the mornings. You find children of school age being
held hostage in broad day light by their blind and disabled relatives.
And we are all looking on.
clearly indicates a failure of the
social system.
The Constitution places the responsibility
on the Parliament of
Ghana to pass laws to ensure that
children and young persons receive
special protection against
exposure to physical and moral
hazards.
The Constitution also requires
the protection and advancement
of the family as the unit of society
all in the bid of promoting the
interest of children.
As if it is not enough, the
Constitution provides that every
child has the right to be protected
from engaging in work that constitutes
a threat to his health, education
or development.
Children are not supposed to
be subjected to torture or cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment.
The Children’s Act further
provides that no person shall deprive
a child access to education,
immunization, adequate diet,
clothing, shelter, medical attention
or any other thing required
for his development.
I need not say much to prove
how helpless our authorities and
the state have been in the face of
these flagrant and evil treatments
being meted out to the young
ones.
Yes, it is true that parental responsibility
has failed. But so also
has the state. If we had a solid
state and social welfare system, as
we are supposed to, these children
will at the very least have an opportunity
to decent life, but no.
They are definitely not our priority.
And we are wasting their
sweet and precious lives away.
It cannot be business as usual.
There is no moral, social or intellectual
justification for the presence
of these young ones on the
road. Heaven knows the risks and
dangers that they have to live up
with on a daily basis.
And if we wouldn’t want that
for ourselves and our children,
why should we for a moment
stand by and watch that happen
to others.
We can do better than we are
doing right now. The future of
this country is literally wasting
away on the streets. How long can
we look on?
Yes, it is true that
parental responsibility
has failed.
But so also has
the state. If we
had a solid state
and social welfare
system, as
we are supposed
to, these children
will at the very
least have an opportunity
to decent
life, but no.