Eighty-one orphanages stopped

Eighty-one out the 120 orphanages in Ghana have been closed down because of the poor welfare of the inmates, Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection said on Tuesday.

She said a large number of orphanages were operating illegally and expressed regret that the illegal operation of those orphanages were putting the lives of the children at risk,

Additionally, she said, the laws on adoption were weak, resulting in the trafficking of children under the guise of adoption.

Consequently, the Minister said, a moratorium had been placed on adoption while its legislation was reviewed.

The Minister said these when she appeared before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, in Accra, which is considering the Performance Audit Report on selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

She stated, for instance, that the current law required for the payment of an adoption fee of GH¢ 50 as against that of 50,000 pounds in the United Kingdom.

The Minister said there was an on-going investigation into why about 300 children were adopted into a particular country, suggesting a high level of child trafficking. She, however, did not disclose the country.

At the turn of Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dr Ahmed Yakubu, a Deputy Sector Minister, debunked the view that the Government had withdrawn the subsidies on fertilizer.

He explained that there was no such policy by the Government, however, there were challenges involving paying for fertilizers that had already been utilised.

He announced that the Government was entering into some partnerships to revitalize a number of storage facilities across the country.