The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Adaklu in the Volta Region, Mr Jerry Yao Ameko, has called for a dedicated allocation from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to finance child protection programmes across the country.
He said the absence of specific funding for child protection at the local government level was making it difficult for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to adequately implement programmes to protect children.
According to Mr Ameko, although MMDAs received 80 per cent of their budget allocation from the DACF, only five per cent was allocated for central administration and recurrent expenditure.
He explained that the limited allocation constrained the ability of the assemblies to adequately finance child protection activities and other social interventions at the local level.
Mr Ameko noted that the remaining portion of the DACF allocation was committed to development projects, including the 24-hour Economy Market, as well as education and health infrastructure.
He, therefore, called for child protection to be given a dedicated allocation under the DACF to enable MMDAs to effectively respond to the needs and protection of children within their jurisdictions.
Mr Ameko made the call at a national dialogue on child protection financing in Accra yesterday, on the theme: “Financing child protection to secure every child’s future.”
The event was organised by SOS Children’s Village in partnership with Joy News and the Embassy of Norway, following a national advocacy and child protection workshop held in April this year.
“We know that our people are interested in the tangible, the physical projects that they see, the roads being built, classrooms being built, water systems being constructed and all that. But then there are the intangibles that matter and that always run on what we do with the allocation for central administration and recurrent expenditure,” he said.
Mr Ameko also urged MMDAs to collaborate with civil society organisations to address child protection challenges at the local level.
The Administrator of the DACF, Mr Michael Harry Yamson, urged MMDAs to advocate for the proposed 10 per cent increase in budgetary allocation for central administration and recurrent expenditure under the constitutional review process.
He said DACF resources were intended primarily for development, including child protection interventions, rather than consumer goods and programmes.
Mr Yamson further noted that five per cent of the DACF was allocated to social protection for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and suggested that MMDAs could advocate for its expansion to cover child protection.
The Family Strengthening Coordinator of SOS Children’s Village, Mr David Kanortey, called for a community-focused approach, saying his organisation, with support from partners, was establishing community-based child protection committees in four communities.
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Naa Momo Lartey, in a speech read on her behalf by Reverend Israel K. Akrobortu, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to finding sustainable ways to finance child protection.
Participants also raised concerns about inadequate resources for social welfare departments and the need for greater accountability in child protection financing.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
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