Commission on Children to collate data on trokosis

Ho, Nov. 21, GNA - Mr William Fiati, Volta Regional Co-ordinator of the Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC) on Friday said the Commission would soon undertake an empirical data collection exercise on liberated trokosi slaves and others still in servitude.

This is to ascertain the veracity of information regarding the number of the liberated victims and those still being held in bondage.

Mr Fiati was speaking at the International Day Against Child Abuse and a review workshop on Child Adoption and Fosterage Law in Ho organised by the Commission.

He said the failure of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) engaged in the trokosi project to co-ordinate their activities had raised doubts about the reliability of the number of the slaves they claimed to have freed and those being held in the shrines.

Mr Fiati said the Commission would also collaborate with the security agencies and the District Assemblies to form community-based task forces and vigilante groups at sensitive areas like the markets, border posts and lorry parks to track down on the activities of child traffickers, as the incident was assuming alarming proportion in the region.

He said the Commission would outline an action plan to sensitise all stakeholders on child-abuse and related issues that impinge on their total development.

Mr Fiati noted that if the poverty-profile of parents were enhanced through the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), child abuse and its accompanying problems would be reduced drastically and eliminated totally with time.

On Adoption and Fosterage, Mr Fiati asserted that the current procedure for adoption was cumbersome and complicated according to a study done by the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs.

He said the law on adoption and fosterage now under review failed to provide a safe inheritance for fostered and adopted children from their adoptive parents and hoped that that aspect of the law would be thoroughly scrutinised.

Mr William Krakani, Principal Social Development Officer at the Volta Regional Department of Social Welfare said ignorance, lack of information and negative public perception were rather militating against the procedure of adoption and fosterage.

"Generally, Ghanaian attitude to adoption has been negative. The procedure must be carefully scrutinised due to the psychology and the legality involved", he said.

He said the sex choices of applicants, age and complexion were other areas that needed to be dealt with.

Mr Krakani, therefore entreated District Assemblies to play a leading role in educating all and sundry on the Children's Act.

Mr Edwin Darkey, Volta Regional Director of the National Population Council (NPC) said the legality of the adopting procedures should not be compromised as the security and welfare of an adopted child could not be guaranteed after the adoptive parents began to procreate.

He said the stigmatisation of such children by the public was a disincentive to many prospective adoptive parents and needed to be discouraged.