Child Rights International (CRI) has urged authorities to be sensitive to the fundamental rights of children involved in the recent swoop by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to rid the streets of Accra of migrant beggars.

The CRI said the government must adopt a more “child-sensitive and coordinated approach” in dealing with the situation since it involved children and adults.

The operation, which took place on Friday, May 16, 2025, targeted major areas like Kane­shie, Abossey Okai, and Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and led to the “arrest” of over 2,000 individuals with more than 1,300 of them being children, many of whom are foreign nationals.

The Executive Director of CRI, Mr Bright Appiah, addressing the media in Accra yester­day said while it was “illegal and unsafe” for children to beg on the streets, any interven­tion involving children must uphold their rights and dignity, regardless of their nation­ality.

He expressed concern about the high number of children caught in the exercise and emphasized that the issue was not just one of “public order, but of child protection.”

He stressed that these children should not be treated as offenders but rather as vulnera­ble individuals in need of care and protection.

Mr Appiah referred to both international and local laws to support its position.

“The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which Ghana ratified in 1990, clearly outlines that children should not face discrimination and that their best interests must be a primary consideration in all matters affecting them,” he explained.

According to him, “Ghana’s Children’s Act further states that any child who is homeless, begging, or living in unsafe conditions is enti­tled to state protection.

Mr Appiah said the lack of coordination raises serious questions about how the chil­dren were being cared for after the operation and whether any proper procedures were in place for their reintegration or repatriation.

He mentioned the risk to Ghana’s inter­national image and national security if such operations continued without a structured and humane approach.

The child right advocate warned that the presence of children on the streets was more than a moral failure, adding that it was a social and economic problem that drain public resources.

He said a 2015 government report estimat­ed that child abuse alone costs Ghana up to GH¢1.44 billion annually.

The Executive Director urged the gov­ernment to make long-term changes and recommended that authorities collect proper identification and bio-data of everyone involved in such operations to ensure no child was lost in the system.

He called for detailed case assessments to better understand each child’s background and needs.

This he said would help in tracing families and reuniting children with them safely.

“CRI wants the government to set clear and consistent procedures for handling foreign children found on the streets. These should include safe return protocols and legal coop­eration with the countries of origin,” he said.

He said stronger border monitoring and immigration systems were also needed to pre­vent illegal entry and better protect vulnerable children from exploitation or trafficking.

Mr Appiah insisted that operations like the recent GIS swoop should not be repeated without proper planning and agency collabo­ration.

“We believe that if Ghana is to truly protect its children and meet its legal obligations, it must treat this issue as a national emergency and a rights-based and child-focused strategy is not just ideal — it is a necessity,” he said.

Mr Appiah called on all government agen­cies to work together to put the interests of every child first,” failure to act responsibly and urgently risks leaving hundreds of children on the streets, exposed to danger and stripped of hope.”

President John Dramani Mahama had extended a hand of invitation to European investors to take advantage of Ghana’s improving economy to venture into the country for mutual benefit.

He said there were investment opportu­nities in agro industrial zones, renewable energy and green finance, pharmaceutical in­dustry, digital infrastructure and innovation, transport and connectivity amongst others.

President Mahama who stated this in Accra yesterday during the Ghana-Europe­an Union (EU) Business Forum, said since taking the reins of power in January this year, the economic indices of the country had improved with better projections into the future.

The programme organised by the Eu­ropean Union (EU) and the Government of Ghana was under the theme “Fostering investment in high growth potential value chains under the EU Global Gateway Strat­egy.”

As part of the programme, the EU signed several support packages to the country and some private organisations totalling more than four billion euros.

President Mahama said “Under my lead­ership, Ghana is embarking on a new era of industrial diversification, youth employment, and green transformation and the role of investors and strategic partnerships will be indispensable.”

Ghana, the President noted, was emerg­ing from a period of fiscal distress, high inflation, and declining investor confidence amongst other negative indicators.

According to him, the tide of economic turbulence was turning around with a steep adjustment in the primary balance from negative 3.9 of GDP by end of year 2024 to a projected positive 1.5 of Gross Domestic Product by end of this year.

“These bold and targeted interventions are beginning to witness early signs of eco­nomic recovery and renewed momentum,” he emphasized.

The updated real composite index of economic activity, he disclosed recorded an annual growth of 2.3 per cent for the first quarter of 2025 compared to 1.0 per cent for the same period last year.

With inflation easing to 21.2 from 23.8 at the end of 2024, a single digit inflation pro­jected by middle of 2026, appreciating cedi, gross international reserve improving from $8.9 billion to $10.6 billion amongst other positive economic indicators, though early in the year, President Mahama said the future looks even brighter.

“My government’s vision is to build a resilient and dynamic economy that creates jobs, adds value to our natural resources and empowers small and medium enterprises to scale up globally.

“I assure all potential partners that under this administration, Ghana is committed to transparent governance, policy predictability, and a reformed business environment,” he stressed.

The Deputy Director-General of Inter­national Partnerships of the EU, Myriam Ferran, said the forum aimed to identify new business and trade opportunities, facilitating partnerships, and enhancing investment through risk guarantee schemes like the Eu­ropean Fund for Sustainable Development Goals.

She noted that EU investments in Ghana had doubled since 2016, reaching €4 billion in 2023 and said there was further opportu­nities to increase trade between Ghana and EU.

Ms Ferran said EU was supporting a lot of projects to accelerate the socio-economic development of Ghana and said the projects were in the areas of feeder roads, irrigation systems, agriculture, energy and health, adding that discussions were underway to support Ghana with 135 million euros to support energy infrastructure to improve electricity supply in Northern Ghana and rural communities.

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Agri­business, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, said the government was committed to creating a transparent and conducive business environ­ment that fostered investment and economic transformation.

She said Ghana and EU had enjoyed long standing relationship, adding that Ghana and EU cooperation should move beyond raw commodities to value-added production and technology transfer.

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said Ghana was also seeking EU collaboration to build a strong pharmaceutical industry, aiming to become a manufacturing hub for vaccines and essential medicines in West Africa.

The EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchard Razaaly, said EU and Ghana shared a com­mon development mission, saying that the EU was committed to the development of Ghana, and would support the government to address the growing unemployment chal­lenge facing the country.

Former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Prof Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, failed to appear before the High Court on Tuesday, May 20, on grounds of ill-health in the ongoing trial regarding the controversial Accra Sky Train project, which allegedly cost the state $2 million.

His legal representative, Duke Aaron Sasu, informed the court that his client’s absence was due to a medical emergency.

According to Mr Sasu, the former Education Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, was rushed to the emergency ward of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) in the early hours of Tuesday.

The specific nature of Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi’s medical condition remains unclear.

However, his legal team has expressed hope for his full recovery and readiness to face trial in due course.

This incident follows an earlier explanation offered on 13th May, when the plea of Prof Akumfi’s co-accused, former CEO of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, Solomon Asamoah, was taken.

On that occasion, counsel for Prof Akumfi told the court that the academic and statesman had recently undergone surgery at UGMC, making him unfit to appear in court.

Hearing has been adjourned to May 26.

Prof Akumfi has been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, specifically, wilfully causing financial loss to the Republic.

The charges, brought under Sections 23(1) and 179A(3)(a) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), relate to a US$2 million payment made in 2019 to Africa Investor Holdings Limited.

The payment was intended to support the development of an urban Skytrain system in Accra, an initiative that was never realised.

Source: Myjoyonline.com