Anas Reacts: Ministerial Committee Is A Smokescreen

Will Cooperate Only With Independent Committee

Following the negative reactions on radio by the Minister for Social Welfare and Employment, Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, which were obviously meant to discredit the investigative work on the Osu Children`s Home by The New Crusading GUIDE, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the journalist who led the investigation, has reacted to his comments; indicating he (Anas) will not cooperate with the ministerial committee proposed by the minister unless an independent committee was set up to look into the matter.

“It is pathetic and irritating that in the face of the enormous evidence in the form of video footage, authorities responsible for the home are challenging the authenticity of our work”, Anas fumes.

He noted the minister had already jumped the gun by commenting that, the reporter (Anas) exaggerated the situation at the Children`s Home in his reportage and had thus blown the issue out of proportion against the real facts pertaining at the Osu Children’s Home.

“I think the minister has prejudiced the matter through his comments and personally it would not be prudent for me to sit through a committee set up by him (minister) to delve into this issue. I can only cooperate with an independent committee”, Anas underscored.

Meanwhile, the management of The New Crusading GUIDE has emphatically declared support for its ace investigative reporter; stressing that the paper will stand by the story and will continne to vouch for its credibility but will not co-operate with the Ministerial Committee in view of the prejudicial comments made by both the Minister and the Director of Social Welfare.

However, the Deputy Minister for Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC), Hon. Hawawa Boya Gariba, after watching the two hours video by Anas yesterday on television, stormed the premises of the orphanage home (Osu Children’s Home) to see things for herself.

She observed that the sanitation conditions as captured on video were true and charged the management to tackle the situation

The Minister who sounded a bit worried about the upbringing of the children, submitted that the orphanage home was not a place for people to enrich themselves, adding that there was no justification for some staff to sell items donated to the home.

The Minister urged the management to take proper care of the home. “If you think you can’t take control of the children, we will use an adoption policy to help run the place smoothly”, she said.

The management of the home led by Madam Sharon Abbey, on her part submitted that though the story was an exposé on her outfit, she thinks some of the recordings on the footage were not from the Osu Children’s home. “We will work with the committee to get this problem solved”, she noted.