District Assemblies To The Rescue Of 'Witches Camp'

Authorities of four district assemblies have pledged their support for inmates of five alleged 'witch' camps dotted across the Northern Region.

This follows the alleged witches' recent complaints of starvation since the suspension of their grants payment under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

Representatives of Yendi, East Mamprusi, Nanumba South and Gushiegu district assemblies, at a day's workshop dubbed “Working with alleged witches,” renewed their commitment to support the ostracized women.

The workshop was under the auspices of women and child rights advocacy Non-Governmental Organization, Songtaba, and funded by STAR-Ghana, UK Aid, DANIDA and the European Union.

It brought together local government officials and Civil Society Organizations to propagate the implementation of policies required for the protection of the alleged witches.

The participants included district coordinating Directors and planners, officials of the Department of Social Welfare, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Domestic Violence Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana police service and the Legal Aid.

Civil Society Organizations including NORSAAC, the Go Home project, and the Reintegration Committee were also present.

The four district assemblies hosting the ostracized women promised to renew their health insurance, ensure the release of their LEAP grants, and support community-level sensitization and reintegration exercises.

The Civil Society Organizations agreed to use the alleged witches network to build synergies as a means of mainstreaming issues of witchcraft accusations and to curtail its accompanying human rights violations.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana