Agencies pass the buck over lunatics PARRY

Ho, Feb 11, GNA - The mandate to tackle the problem of roving lunatics appears imprecise as all four outfits

spoken to by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Ho on Wednesday parried that responsibility to the other. The outfits visited are, the Social Welfare Department, the Psychiatric Unit of the Ho Municipal Assembly,

the Municipal Assembly and the Police Service. Mr Barnabas B. Adjin, Volta Regional Director of the Department of Social welfare said it was not the sole

responsibility of his department to manage these lunatics. He said the department's role was helping to find out about the background of a lunatic, who might be

arrested by the police and give recommendations as to what to do next. Mr Barnabas said the Department did not have the mandate to initiate action and simply did not even have

the logistics to do so. Ms Victoria Agbedanu, Head of the Ho Municipal Hospital Psychiatric Unit said that responsibility was that

of the family whose support in managing a mental patient was crucial. She said her unit would hardly initiate action to accost and treat roaming lunatics, but conceded that a few

times, it went out of its way to give support to some. Mr Stephen Okrah, Ho Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD) said it clear that it was not the responsibility

of the Assembly but that of the Department of Social Welfare with the Assembly giving logistics to support if

requested. Mr Samuel Owusu Berko, Ho Municipal Police Commander said the police would come in if the lunatic was

the raving type and dangerous. He said the police faced a lot of risk handling such cases mentioning a recent incident when an officer was

nearly slaughtered by a lunatic he was detailed to arrest near Agortime-Kpetoe. Currently on the premises of the Ghana News Agency in Ho is one of such mentally unstable persons, who

occasionally bursts into offices around, gets into tantrums daring everybody. He has bedecked the frontage of one of the offices with banners and posters plucked from their original

places. But for his scruffy appearance Mr Emmanuel Dagarti as he is called could be taken for a front-desk officer as

he sits behind a long table in 'the covered entrance' to the main block. Mr Dagarti, said to be a casual employee of the New Times Corporation has been a bother to his employers

and staff of institutions on the GNA block, which are in a dilemma as to how to get rid of him. 11 Feb. 10