By Richard Manuba
In my experience as a Journalist, I have come to hear hundreds of thousands of comments from politicians, and other professionals from various walks of life. Some are policy-oriented, some are from free-thinkers, while some come from scientists, etc. In this article, I intend to put a recommendation to the incoming administration which is going to lead our endeared Country for the next six (6) years.
As a Father, myself, I want to put to His Excellency Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, the need to curb Child Street selling in this Country. Our former and present leaders of this Country have seen whilst riding on their vehicles, some of their own, rumbling between vehicles, selling low level commodities such as plantain chips, when motorists are moving. Whether they are mentally upright or not, those child sellers have no clue, meaning, they could be in harm’s way.
This is mainly happening around the 20th Street intersection which also has a route to the JFK Memorial Medical Hospital, the Vamoma intersection which also leads residents and others to the Airfield, and the most being the Boulevard Junction. You will see children selling in the street in full glare, when driving on your vehicle or being a pedestrian around the Health Ministry. This takes me to this question: “Do we have a Ministry of Gender, CHILDREN, and Social Protection Ministry”?
In the best of my assumption, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on the watch of H.E Joseph N. Boakai, will need to apply robustness on whoever becomes the next Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection on. Reasons are that, our society should, and must protect the sanctity of our children. Part of God’s appreciation of His creation is that we should bring the little children onto Him; am sure for He, God, to lay His hands of blessings upon them. Externally, this blessing will get our children to the level we envisage for their personal growth and development.
So, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirlear failed to use her Gender Ministry to stop child street selling, the outgoing Administration as well did not even talk about it, remiss to say they were fathoming any affirmative action to stop our children from moving between cars to sell goods that are so and so very much low level.
JNB, as we are commonly calling you, please know that when you are on the way to work in the convoy, you will see there child sellers. Again, off from work, you will see them. Is there a problem in talking to your Gender Minister to locate a program through which we can reach out to rhe parents of those children and see how we can put them through a productive development program that prepares them to become very good citizens of our Country? I would hasten to say ‘Yes’.
If this Article does not say, doesn’t it go without saying that the Gender Ministry, like others, has several donor partners who are working along with the Liberian Government to improve service delivery here? Yes, they are, and Gender Ministry has internal partners they are working along with, through which they can carve a program to take those children off the streets. Can you imagine, Honorable government officials, some of the child street sellers moving between care were your own? Come to think about it. Think about it some little more, that little girl, that little boy right now navigating between vehicles is your son, your daughter. We need affirmative action, my people.
As I rest my pen for now, I entreat the Administration of JNB and JKK to please end child street selling in the Republic of Liberia. In this opining, I focused on Monrovia but, similar child selling are also taking place in some big Capitals like Ganta, Buchanan, Tubmanburg, etc. If we say we want to be part of global celebrating the day of the African Child, why should we be doing so have a decent record of protecting the future well-being of our Children? We can’t be deceiving ourselves and making our children to be vulnerable.
Let’s take affirmative action on your watch, JNB, JKK. You all will be riding to work and seeing those children selling on the streets, and I want you to please charge your new Gender Minister on this.
My pen rests for now.
