Accra, May 12, GNA - Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, on Tuesday said irresponsible parenting would be one of the vices that the Ministry would address vigorously. She said irresponsible parenting led to so many social vices including streetism; drug abuse; truancy; child delinquency and child prostitution leading to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Ms Dansua said this at the Meet-The-Press series when she took her turn to outline the programmes of the Ministry.

She said: "If parents, especially the men, are taking very good care of their children the women would not be running from one prayer camp to the other looking for solution to their marital problems." The Minister said the time had come to ask men to take up their responsibility to give their children better future. On the issue of Kayayei (female head porters), Ms Dansua said the problem needed collaboration with all stakeholders, especially the media, to educate them on the need to stay at home to be trained to become responsible mothers.

"We need to put all hands together to educate these girls from migrating down to the South. If the public cannot partner the Ministry in such instances, the Ministry alone cannot do it," she said. Touching on how MOWAC intended to address child prostitution, the Minister said they were in consultation with the Greater Accra Regional Minister to close down all brothels, especially Soldier Bar, a popular brothel at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra. "At first, we thought the land on which Soldier Bar was built belongs to the Government, which would have made it easier for us but our investigation revealed that the land belongs to the man in question. "But we will not be discouraged. We are discussing with other authorities and shall try to close down Soldier Bar and all other such brothels in the Metropolis."

Ms Dansua advocated introduction of sex education in schools to break through the cultural impediments.

"Let's provide them with information that would guide them in life. We must be honest with ourselves because some of the children cannot abstain from pre-marital sex," she said. Ms Ramatu Boya Gariba, Deputy Minister of MOWAC, contributing on the Kayayei issue, suggested that instead of training the girls in the South of the country, they should rather be trained in the North to lure those in the South to go back for the training. Ms Zita Okaikoi, Minister of Information, also advised women to take their irresponsible husbands to the family tribunals for redress.