Under the Tree Education verses Rent of CHRAJ boss

In the midst of poverty and apathy looming across Ghana with some children being educated under the trees we hear of the selfish side of the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) boss. May I ask is she being paid with the taxpayers’ money to fight and defend the plight of the vulnerable, disadvantaged children and their families? I wonder!

After 25 years that we signed the UN Convention on the Right of the Child treaty to make the world a better place for children what are the contributions CHRAJ so far in making this happen in Ghana. It grieves my heart when I read on Ghanaweb 4/12/2014 that Ms Lauretta Lamptey, CHRAJ’s boss paid close to $5,000 monthly rent on her plush AU Village apartment for 33 months while over GHS180,000 was spent to renovate her official bungalow. No wonder a number of petitions were forwarded to Parliament and acted on by the President. I would like to congratulate those who reported, as they were very brave indeed.

Whose interest is the CHRAJ Boss fighting for?

Is she aware of the Convention on the Right of the Child Treaty signed on 29th Jan 1990? What type of intelligence data has she gathered since she came to office in an effort to turnaround the plight of the vulnerable children in our society?

The norm is that when some people get into any position of power they feel the general public rather owns them a favour for doing their duty. It is pathetic to follow the information in the media and I quote, “…the procedures for Ms Lamptey's removal from office would start with credible evidence of corruption and abuse of office by the Chief Justice's investigations”. This is not what one would expect to see on the news about CHRAJ boss.

Where did she go wrong? Is she blinded and failing to acknowledge the inequalities as she drives to work each day seeing young people waste their lives as street hawkers? Is she not the one who is paid to fight for the rights of the vulnerable children and families to have a good child benefit system in place to alleviate the pains and suffering of this group of people or she blind to their plights?

How could she sleep at night knowing that she has the power to make a difference for every child in Ghana?

The Convention is partially or not practiced to some extent in Ghana even though we signed up to it nearly 25 years ago. Is she fully aware that we are not meeting the target set yet nothing has been done to date. What are her targets set dates and commitment from her office?

Who is responsible in conducting a performance management on her to hold her accountable for the failings in schools and wasted lives ending up on our High streets as hawkers, prostitutes, etc?

Is she working closely with the Minister of Education to share the intelligence she has gathered over the years as the boss of CHRAJ? Is she aware that the Convention Treaty was meant to change the way children are viewed treated, that is, as human being with distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity?

Surely if Ghana has also signed up to the Treaty clearly we should be demonstrating this by now and with our full commitments to advancing children rights.

The developed countries have demonstrated the value and true meaning of the UN Convention of the Right of the child Treaty by putting in place structures. In contrast children in Ghana are rather disadvantaged from an early age as early years’ education is not regarded as important and not budgeted for. There is still increasing infant mortality and low up take of school enrolment. Why?

There is no significant historic milestone achievement in Ghana when it comes down to addressing issues of concerns raised in the UN Convention on the Right of the Child which should have served as an urgent reminder to the CHRAJ boss as much needs to be done for the disadvantaged vulnerable children and young people in our country. As the Boss of CHRAJ I would have expected Ms Lauretta Lamptey to hold the ruling Government / Parliament to accounts for not fulfilling their duty in the Treaty. This could be done by using her office to ensure the introduction of child benefits thus underpinning her argument with the five categories on Child Protection policies in order to safeguarding of children and families throughout Ghana.

The position of CHRAJ boss is not to be seen as self-centred. We have the UN Convention on the Right of the Child contract staring at us to match up with developments in the global world and Under the Tree form of education must be stopped and early years’ education seriously budgeted for.

Given that an Act 456 of the Parliament of Ghana established The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice in 1993, we still have significant inequalities in Ghana. Why is this so ? It was directed by Article 216 of the 1992 Ghana constitution as an independent organisation for the safeguarding of human rights in Ghana. I would question whose rights CHRAJ boss is serving as an ombudsman in receiving and dealing with complaints about the proper functioning of public institutions and to provide redress. Why has CHRAJ not foghting for provision for early years education as an urgent matter to redress the inequalities raised in UN Convention on the Right of the Child which we signed 1990. Is the CHRAJ boss aware of the findings of the former Minister of Education regarding the number of vulnerable children being educated under the trees in our rural areas? Is her office not responsible on addressing the inequalities and challenging Parliament?

Whose interest is CHRAJ serving when children are still being educated under the trees in 21st century Ghana?

The Convention changed the way children are viewed and treated – i.e., as human beings with a distWhose interest is inct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity.

The unprecedented acceptance of the Convention clearly shows a wide global commitment to advancing children’s rights.

There is much to celebrate as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention, from declining infant mortality to rising school enrolment, but this historic milestone must also serve as an urgent reminder that much remains to be done. Too many children still do not enjoy their full rights The Convention changed the way children are viewed and treated – i.e., as human beings with a distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity.

The unprecedented acceptance of the Convention clearly shows a wide global commitment to advancing child The Convention changed the way children are viewed and treated – i.e., as human beings with a distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity.

The unprecedented acceptance of the Convention clearly shows a wide global commitment to advancing children’s rights.

There is much to celebrate as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention, from declining infant mortality to rising school enrolment, but this historic milestone must also serve as an urgent reminder that much remains to be done. Too many children still do not enjoy their full rights on par with their peers. ren’s rights.

There is much to celebrate as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention, from declining infant mortality to rising school enrolment, but this historic milestone must also serve as an urgent reminder that much remains to be done. Too many children still do not enjoy their full rights on par with their peers. on par with their peers.