‘Stop using children to beg’ – Otiko Djaba

The phenomenon of children being used as ‘aides’ by persons with disability to beg on the streets may soon be a thing of the past if perpetrators of such acts will heed to the call by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Djaba.

“Begging is not a profession. No Ghanaian should reduce him/herself to beggers because we are a blessed people from a blessed country. My dear disabled persons, I don’t want to see you beg. The begging must stop. You let your children take you round to go and beg, when the child should be in school. You are disadvantaging that child; you are abusing the child’s right to be in school. So, is that child also going to be a begger?” she said.

Madam Otiko Afisah Djaba made the comments when she was addressing Civil Society Groups in the Wa Municipality as part of her two -day familiarization tour in the Upper West Region.

She expressed her Ministry’s commitment to support the disabled by helping to identify their capabilities and skills so as to assist them through the various social protection interventions.

Madam Afisah Djaba, however, called for collective support to ensure that Ghana becomes the country we all dream of.

“The government of Nana Akufo-Addo believes that every life deserves a certain amount of dignity; no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it. So we will not relent on our efforts at promoting the well-being of Ghanaians by fighting and reducing poverty in all forms through an integrated platform of effective social protection assistance,” she stated.