The Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLDGRD) has indicated its readiness to support the extension of the Decriminalizing Vagrancy Laws Advocacy (DVLA) to more Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to get the needed impact of the advocacy.
The Director of Local Government Decentralization at the Ministry, Samuel Seth Paasah said though the project has been successfully rolled out in a few project Assemblies, its impact will be felt when the advocacy is deepened in more deprived Assemblies.
Mr. Paasah made this observation when Crime Check Foundation (CCF) made a presentation on the OSIWA funded DVLA project to key directors of the Ministry. This was at a courtesy call the Foundation paid on the Ministry in its implementation of the project.
It is aimed at ending the criminalization of vagrancy or homelessness in the country.
Mr. Paasah said the Ministry will ensure the project is successfully implemented to promote sanity in society. He, therefore, appealed to the donor, OSIWA to support the extension of the project to other areas.
“We are excited about the project and we would want to be part of this project so as to ensure sanity in our society. This would be more impactful when many deprived areas are captured under the project,” he said.
He however cautioned that though the advocacy calls for the decriminalization of some laws that infringe on the rights of the poor and vulnerable care must be taken so that some useful bye-laws are not taken for granted.
About the CCF-OSIWA Project:
CCF is a crime prevention and human rights advocacy organization in Ghana. The Decriminalizing Vagrancy Laws and Advocacy project is funded by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). The project seeks to create an enabling environment for vagrants (the homeless and other poor and voiceless persons) to know, claim and exercise their rights to end the criminalization of vagrancy or homelessness in Ghana.
About OSIWA:
Established in 2000, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is a grant-making and advocacy organization focused on equality, justice, democratic governance, human rights, and knowledge generation. It is part of the global network of Open Society Foundations spread across 37 countries around the world.
By Rudolph Nandi
www.rudnankp4@gmail.com
