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
