The government has allocated over K400, 000 for the reintegration of street kids and the monitoring of the welfare of children in Central Province.
Minister of Community Development and Social Services, Doreen Mwamba, said her ministry will enforce the Children’s Code Act No 12 of 2022 to bring about order in the streets while implementing the social protection programmes.
Ms Mwamba was speaking in Kabwe when she paid a courtesy call on Central Province Minister Credo Nanjuwa.
Ms Mwamba said the Child Code Act No 12 of 2022 will help in harmonizing the children’s welfare countrywide.
“With the Act in place, my ministry will now take charge in implementing its mandate of protecting children in all settings and will create an environment where all children can grow and thrive with full potential,” Ms Mwamba said.
The minister cited Kapiri Mposhi District as one of the hot spot in Central Province where cases of teen pregnancies, early marriages and child sexual abuse are record high.
She warned that the government will not take kindly of parents that are in the habit of marrying their children at an early age and also those that fail to take their children to school.
“I wish to implore you Central Province Minister to help in re-enforcing the Children’s Code Act No 12 of 2022 and also to monitor the social protection programmes in your region, she said.
And Central Province Minister, Credo Nanjuwa, has commended the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services for coming up with Children’s Code bill which President Hakainde Hichilema assented to into law.
Mr Nanjuwa said this was a monumental milestone within the country after years of hard work by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services and the cooperating partners.
“The Act solidifies various rights and protections for children and officially establishes procedures for regulations of children’s welfare in the country,” Mr Nanjuwa said.
He has since appealed to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services to address the transport challenges in the region in order to ensure there is effective monitoring of social protection services.
If we go back to our family setup and values, there’s no child that’ll be a street kid. Most of those kids and some adults are volunteers, they’re on the streets by choice. The more alms you give, the more you attract to streets. Once they notice that there’s nothing for them on the streets they’ll go back. DON’T GIVE ALMS TO STREET KIDS
No. That is but one strategy. You havent studied the phenomenon. Some of the streetkids do not rely on any alms. They are professional scavengers who will look for anything useful in your rubbish. Yes you are right about family setups. Kaunda and nyerere used to say Orphanages and Old people’s homes are unafrican. This was because Africans always took care of the weak via extended family customs. It is no longer the case so we have a contemporary problem to sort out. Solutions? Ask yourself why there are no streetkids in Kigali. There were no streetkids in Tripoli. The easy answer but so difficult to effect is: sort out the economy. Everything else will follow.
That is but a solution from a richman’s comfortable couch. You are forgetting Zambia has been one the countries most hit by AIDS? It’s not by choice that those kids are on the street. They have no parents