Osu to impose curfew on children from 9 p.m.
Children in Osu between the ages of five and 15 risk being arrested and their parents fined if they are found loitering in town after 9p.m., the Osu Traditional Council has warned.
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The Osu Mantse, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona, told The Mirror that the council was working with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to develop a by-law to give the decision a legal teeth.
Nii Dowuona said the council would begin the implementation of the by-law before the close of the year.
“We are doing a lot of consultations and engaging our youth who will enforce it. There will be a task force in place and we will be working with the security agencies and social welfare.
“The management of the various School Management Committees are anxious for it to take off because it will turn around the fortunes of this community,” he explained.
He said the move had become necessary to address the falling standards of education in the area which is famous for its Oxford Street, arguably Accra’s biggest entertainment hub.
According to the Osu Mantse, the attractions of night life in the community was so appealing that increasingly, schoolchildren abandoned their books and spent hours outside.
The Mirror also observed during a night’s drive through the township that most of the children gathered around drinking spots, betting centres and food joints to enjoy themselves while others spent the night helping their parents to sell food.
A 15-year-old girl who only gave her name as Diana was one of the many children at Osu at 8p.m. She helps her mother to sell kenkey on the Oxford Street and helps in washing and serving customers until about 11p.m. before she goes home to sleep.
She said she dropped out of school twice because she was always tired; but she could not stop helping her mother, a single parent.
“My mother always encouraged me to go to school. She said I need it in order not to be like her,” she said while emptying a plate of corn leaves into a basket.
In the case of Mike Ayebeng, who was dancing the night away at a popular spot called Container, he said he had finished his school assignment but was bored at home, so he just came out to have some fun, adding that he usually came close to the spot to dance with his friends on some nights.
Nii Dowuona, however, observed that it was important for parents to keep their children at home after 9p.m. to allow them enough rest, as well as prepare for the next day at school.
“We want to ensure that the children stay in school. Going to school is not only the teacher’s responsibility. It is for parents and the community as well, so we are not sitting down to allow this to continue.
“The best legacy we can leave our children is good and sound education and I don’t think allowing our children to loiter in town when they can be doing their homework or reading something useful is the way to do it,” he said.
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He urged parents in Osu to see the council’s action as a collective agreement that they (parents) should consider as an investment in their children.
Asked about how effective the directive would be given that Osu was not a community under curfew, he said every community had its customary laws which were also embodied in the district assembly’s by-laws.
“Today, we leave the upkeep of children to only their parents but on hindsight, children are everybody’s responsibility. Our children are the responsibility of our communities. If the child excels, people will point at Osu, if he or she fails too, fingers will be pointed at Osu.
“If we leave the responsibility to only parents and they come out bad, they become the burden on the society. For example, there are young people without jobs and skills who will walk up to the elderly and beg for money because things are tough for them. For how long can we keep giving handouts? It won’t be for long because it is not sustainable,” he stressed.
Asked about other plans to improve education in the area, the Osu Mantse said the council was partnering with basic schools in the community, providing them with books and making sure the items got to the schoolchildren.
He commended a social club of Osu citizens in North America who also sent books to support schools in the community.
“People assume that Osu is a prime area so it does not need anything; but from our research, we need a lot of social interventions, especially in terms of education.
“We want to encourage the youth in our basic schools to be able to further their education and get the highest they can. It will benefit our community because education transforms society,” he added.
He, therefore, urged businesses in the area to, as part of their corporate social responsibility, contribute to education and other activities in the area.
He said there was currently a children’s social club in the community called ‘Gbekebii’, which had taken upon itself the task of teaching children in Osu about the area’s customs and traditions, as well as help them with their homework after school.
“These are the kind of things that parents should encourage their children to join.
On opportunities for unemployed youth of Osu, he said the council was engaging churches and calling on the youth to register for skills training.
“After the registration, we will contact some of the country’s vocational training centres to equip them with valuable skills that will get them jobs or help them create jobs.
“We want to position our youth to take advantage of the Marine Drive Project not as labourers but as skilled workers who will be better paid,” he said.
A parent, Ms Porcia Aryeetey, described the initiative as laudable but urged the council to consult more with parents, as well as create community libraries and reading centres where young people could go and study.