Osu Children's Home Committee holds first public hearing

Accra, Sept 23, GNA-The Ministerial Committee investigating alleged abuses at the Osu Children's Home on Thursday set the tone for its public hearing with about three hour probing of Directors of the Department of Social Welfare (DSW).

DSW represented by its Director, Mr Stephen Tampuri Adongo, two Deputy Directors, Greater Accra Regional Director and other Divisional Heads answered wide range of questions including conditions at the home; child abuses and neglect, stealing of donated items by staffs and abuse at the Remand Home.

Leading the team, Mr. Adongo said DSW Officials were not appearing before the Committee to defend any commissions or omissions of individuals captured in the Osu Children's Home investigative video footage but to set the record straight on some of the allegations raised.

He said: "Any single abuse is regrettable.the department once again apologise to the general public for the infractions captured in the documentary".

Mr. Adongo said the DSW had set up a multi-sectoral Home

Monitoring Team, which goes round to inspect operations at the various

homes across the country and recommend appropriate actions. "As a result of the periodic monitoring, six homes have been closed nurses to the homes who conduct daily routine check-up on the children"but cannot tell the relationship between the nurses and officials at the

home as DSW does not have direct control over these personnel". On the supervisory role of the DSW Director, including the linkage

between the Home and the Head Office, check and balances and mode

of reporting to the office, and whether he as head has ever visited the

Home? Mr Adongo said he occasionally visits the home, never tasted

their food; and sometimes look at the record books at the centre. "We check the general conditions, rooms, their health records

including contact medical officers for periodic update". He could not provide any evidence on the department's records as to precautionary measures taken to prevent the increasing death rate at

the home but rather linked death to the condition of children before

they are brought to the home. Another issue that generated debate between the committee

members and the DSW officials was the mode of engaging Volunteers. Mr. Adongo explained there are no laid down rules and regulations

for engagement of volunteers, normally the Home would recommend a

person to the DSW, who upon investigation would give the green light. "No policy on engagement of volunteers, people just go to the Home

and offer to assist which I must admit is dangerous.I suggest that we

immediately put in place a policy directive", the DSW Director stated. He said though he had personally expressed concern about the mode

of engagement due to staff shortages and the purported assistance

they provide for the Homes, "they are always in a haste to engage a

volunteer without proper investigation into the person's background".

The Committee expressed concern about the lack of rules and

regulations noting that the website of some volunteering agencies

indicated that they are running the Osu Children's Home. The Committee reminded DSW of its "critical mandate of providing

protection and care.our major concern is also the nature of security at

the Home, which is porous; I have no doubt that somebody can just

walk in and take a child away", a member retorted. Mr. Adongo admitted the security lapses but added that since the

circulation of the video footage, the DSW has increase security at the

Home and appealed to the Deputy Minister of Employment and Social

Welfare to urgently approve support for engagement of Private

Security agency to man the centre. On the care of disabilities, the DSW Director said there are no

special policies on the treatment of disabled children, "policy for

children with disability is framed on the national policy directives. "No segregation, we ensure that they grow-up together with other

children". The Committee Members said their unannounced visit to the home

have confirmed some of the issues raised in the video footage and also

saw some measures the Home have embarked on to address it. The Committee advised the DSW and the Home to engage in Needs

Advocacy to ensure that donations to Home meet their specific needs. On alleged stealing of donated items by staffs of the Home, the DSW

Director said the Home had an internal arrangement to occasionally

give-out some of the donated items to staffs, "I don't see anything wrong if management to decide to motivate

staff periodically with donated items.but I am against any form of

stealing". On food for the Children, the Committee noted during its visit that though it had improved it was still not enough and tasked the Home to

work on it, but Mr Adongo retorted: "You can only prepare food based

on money at hand, even though we regularly received donation

including cash from the public our over head expenditure is huge". The Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare chaired the

Committee which included representative from the Ghana Police,

Attorney General's Department Ministry of Women and Children,

Department of Labour and other Non-Governmental organisations. 23 Sep. 10