Okada motor boys will ruin your future - Girls cautioned

Madam Dian Asante, Girl Child Education Officer of the Ga South Municipal, has cautioned young girls at basic schools in the Municipality not to accept monetary favours from ‘okada’ motor riders’.

She explained that such favours would not be for free and the result of the demand in return might ruin their future.

Madam Asante speaking at a girl’s day event organised by ActionAid Ghana to mark International Day of the Girl (IDG) celebration in Ashifla M/A School said the few cedis the okada boys would give could land them in teenage pregnancies.

IDG is a day to highlight girls’ needs and the particular problems they can face and drive efforts that meet the needs and fulfill their rights not benevolently for them but in partnership with them.

The 2020 edition is on the theme “My voice, our equal future.”

She observed that many of the parents in the area failed to provide for the needs of their children especially the girl-child and had compelled some of them to engage in amorous relationships with young guys in the locality especially ‘okada boys to collect money.

“When you accept the few cedis and they have their way with you and you get pregnant, you will face multiple of the hardship, which pushed you to accept their money,” she said.

Madam Asante advised the young girls to be obedient to their parents, remain focused in their education, and engage in menial jobs like selling water to cater for their needs.

She appealed to parents to support their children especially girls at school since they were agents of change and could help break the poverty cycle.

The girls during a discussion as part of the day’s event complained that the inability of their parents to provide their needs was hampering their studies.

They said it was the responsibility of parents to strive to take care of children, stressing that parents who were not ready to take up such duties must desist from giving birth.

Madam She-Vera Anzagira, Greater Accra Regional Programme Manager, of ActionAid Ghana called on the government to institute measures to ensure that public education was free, compulsory, and of good quality and that there were no economic barriers to prevent families from sending their girls to school.

She noted that some of the measures must include; addressing inequality by building progressive and expanded domestic tax systems, increase the share of the budget allocated to education and publish a clear breakdown of budget allocations by sub-sector online.

Madam Anzagira added that the government needed to review education plans, budgets and spending to address educational inequalities and support increased analysis of education budgets and performance by civil society and promote greater accountability.

She said, “ActionAid believes that governments must ensure that their tax systems are fairer, more progressive, and better able to raise the funds needed to keep the pledges made at the Global Partnership for Education Financing Conference held in February 2018 and to ensure that all children-especially girls-are able to fully enjoy their right to good quality education.”