MoGCSP to roll out ‘Boame’ app to rescue gender-based violence victims – Minister designate
The Minister designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Abudu Larina Zuweira, has promised to introduce a toll-free mobile application codename “Boame”, to wit, ‘help me’ to promptly respond and rescue victims of gender-based violence, especially women, if approved by the Parliament.
She said in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, the app would make it possible for the ministry to quickly respond to emergency calls from victims and effect the arrest of perpetrators of domestic violence and arraign them.
“I will make this initiative as one of my prime focuses to give hope to victims of abuse and save homes and I will also support a move to roll vulnerable victims of sexual violence onto the National Health Insurance Authority when given the nod,” Abudu Larina Zuweira, MP for Walewale, said.
She gave this assurance when she appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee in Accra yesterday.
She said gender-based violence had destroyed many homes and the future of many young girls and must be nibbed in the bud and that social protection would be at the core of her stewardship if she got the nod of the house.
Among her topmost priorities, she said would be to increase the GH¢0.98 to an “appreciable amount” to reflect the economic conditions so as to keep the caterers in business.
She said not only would she push for prompt release of funds for the caterers to deliver on their mandate, but would ensure nutritional meal for students.
This, Abudu Larina Zuweira said she would do through a domestication policy by the use of local food items to support the growth and development of the agric sector.
Assuring of her commitment to support efforts by the World Food Programme to increase the vitamin levels in food being consumed by students, she said in collaboration with the Vice President’s office, caterers would be linked onto a digitalised platform to facilitate and improve their work.
Responding to allegations of her involvement in some missing tricycles at the Northern Development Authority, Abudu Larina Zuweira denied any involvement.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister designate for the Gender, Children, and Social Protection Ministry, Mrs Oteng Mensah, who also appeared before the Committee said she would assist the minister, if approved, to address child marriage and domestic migration.
To her, it was dehumanising for young people as young as 10 and 12 to migrate from the northern part of the country to be engaging in head portering also known as kakyayei in Accra.
“When it comes to long-term plan, we need to have collaboration with the various ministries, especially the Ministry of Trade and Industry so that they can focus more on the One-District-One-Factory programme where we can have a lot of factories within constituencies in the region to stop internal migration.
“For those who already moved to the southern part of Ghana, when I am given the nod, I will assist my minister for us to pick up the data of these children or do proper research to get to understand their problems to help them acquire skills and support them with various government interventions,” she said.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
