A study carried out from January 2009 to 2012 by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) on Residential Homes for Children (RHC) in Ghana has found that the number of RHCs operating in the country had increased by 169 per cent from 55 in 2005 to 148 in 2012 and they catered for about 4,500 children.  This rise has, however, not been matched by increase in funding for the residential homes, a performance audit report of the Auditor-General from a study conducted on four sampled regions (Greater Accra, Western, Northern, Ashanti) and three other homes in the Central Region has revealed.  According to the A-G’s report on the regulation of residential homes for children (orphanages) by the DSW,  the only fund available for use for the DSW’s planned activities was the Government of Ghana (GoG) funds, which excluded salaries and allowances. The funds were categorised into direct Government of Ghana (GoG) funding, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Internally Generated Funds (IGFs). Nonetheless, the report indicates that while the amount of money received by the DSW increased by 43 per cent from 2008 to 2009, it dropped by 65 per cent from 2009 to 2010. Further, GoG funds allocated to the DSW increased by 27 per cent from 2010 to 2011 and 21 per cent from 2011 to 2012. Funding recorded for DSW activities between 2008 and 2012, as indicated by financial files at the department, shows 2008 figures as GH¢107, 690 for direct GoG funding, GH¢468,516 from LEAP, GH¢180,565 from UNICEF and GH¢7,772 from IGFs, all totalling GH¢764,543. For 2009, the figures were: GH¢153, 571 from direct funding; GH¢380,048 from LEAP; GH¢152,898 from UNICEF and GH¢8,425 from IGFs, totalling GH¢694,942. In 2010 direct funding from GoG was GH¢53,499; LEAP funding was GH¢780,331; UNICEF contributed GH¢359,742; IGFs added up to GH¢9,401 and summed up to GH¢1,202,973. Funding received in 2011 was GH¢68,050 from direct GoG funding, GH¢536,897 from LEAP, GH¢347,012 from UNICEF and GH¢8,619 from IGFs, totalling GH¢960,578. For 2012, the DSW received GH¢82,067 as direct GoG funding; GH¢639,700 from LEAP; GH¢165,771 from UNICEF and GH¢9,719 from IGFs; all adding up to GH¢897,257. Therefore, receipts in direct GoG funding for the five years totalled GH¢464,877; LEAP funding added up to GH¢2,805,492; funding from UNICEF amounted to GH¢1,205,988, while IGFs totalled GH¢43,936, with all receipts for the period adding up to GH¢4,520,293.    Child abuse The study, which was carried out to determine whether the DSW’s regulation of the operations of RHCs was ensuring care and protection of the children, also encountered reports of child abuse, trafficking, unreported movement of children, inadequate caregivers, the absence of infirmaries or sickbays, molestation and neglect at the RHCs. It lists notable homes of abuse as the Osu Children’s Home and the Peace and Love Orphanage at Adenta (Accra), while most orphanages in the country were reported to be operating illegally and below the standards set by the DSW.  The study found that the DSW had not regulated the RHCs operating in the country to provide care and protection for children admitted into the homes, therefore placing the lives of the children at risk. While noting that the DSW had not licensed 96 per cent of RHCs operating in the sampled regions, the team found that due to that situation, the DSW was unable to ensure effective supervision of the RHCs, as most of the homes they superintended were not formally registered and recognised. No effective supervision and monitoring It was also established that the DSW did not have the required data on the operating RHCs in the sampled regions, which made it difficult to track progress of the RHCs, as well as the wellbeing of the children in the RHCs, assess the competency of the home owners and managers and also recommend corrective measures to the homes.  The study found that the activity plans of the DSW had no monitoring schedule and district officers could not provide reports on visits they had made to the RHCs. As a result, minimum standards for operating the RHCs, as prescribed by the guidelines, were not met and followed by the RHCs. However, the team found that 17 out of 25 officers did not have activity plans detailing how often inspection of RHCs were to be done. The remaining had activity plans but with programmes such as disbursement of funds and inspection of LEAP beneficiaries, public education on community care and child protection, education on child abuse and domestic violence, other than inspection or supervision of the RHCs.   Official response The district officers explained that they used to prepare activity and work plans but they were always not implemented because of lack of funds. They informed the team that their visits to the homes were more ad hoc than quarterly because they lacked the needed manpower at the district level to undertake periodic inspections.  They also complained of the workload on them. According to them, they are responsible for activities such as providing services for the disabled, LEAP support distribution, settling family issues, inspecting RHCs and day care centres and attending court cases on behalf of the department.    Operating without licence A compilation of records on 85 RHCs operating in the four sampled regions by the DSW, excluding all four government homes in those regions, showed that 82 operated without licenses, while the remaining three worked with expired licences. Also, the audit team found in Gazette Number 34 the names of three RHCs that had obtained licenses as of March 2010, but which were published on May 14, 2010.  According to the audit team, if all the 143 privately owned RHCs had been certified, that would have generated GH¢7,150 at the current fee of GH¢50 and also further revenue from yearly renewal fees. During a survey of 31 of the unlicensed homes to find out why they operated when they had not been licensed, the team further found that 13 homes had Certificate of Incorporation from the Registrar-General’s Department and NGO certificate of recognition from DSW which enabled entities and individuals to operate NGOs, while the remaining 18 homes had Certificates of Incorporation from the Registrar-General’s Department.  Seventy-one per cent, making up 22 of the 31 unlicensed operators (from the sample), did not know they were to obtain licence from DSW and thought the NGO certificate of recognition was enough mandate for them to operate the RHCs. Ten of the 25 district officers interviewed also believed the use of the Certificate of Recognition was enough mandate to operate a RHC.  Recommendations The audit team gave a host of recommendations to rectify the anomalies in orphanages and homes across the country. These included ensuring that all operating RHCs applied for licence and were screened, failure of which should culminate in their being closed down. It was also recommended that the DSW should ensure and insist that activity and work plans were prepared and implemented at the district level, request for all reports due them from the RHCs and sanction RHCs that did not meet the requirements.  

  The unusually large number of vehicles at the DVLA office was as a result of the desire of most people who bought their vehicles mostly in the last quarter of 2013 to lincence their vehicles in 2014. The situation got so chaotic that police officers had to stand in to control traffic flow at the usually quiet street leading to the DVLA offices. On the first working day of the year on Thurday and Friday, the cars massed up on the car parks of the police barracks nearby as DVLA authorities hustled for space to accomodate the large turn out. To control the situation, officials of the DVLA closed their gates and allowed 50 vehicles into their premises at a time. Additionally, 250 vehicles have been scheduled for registration each day to reduce the stress that comes with the exercise. During this time of the year, many new car owners prefer unique car numbers or car licence plates with numbers that end with 14- (coined from 2014 ), hence they wait till the end of the year to register their vehicles. “A car with registration number say GR 1-14 or  GR 111-14 will make my plate stand out,” Mr John Kusi, an applicant,said. He had bought a Toyota Corolla in October last year but waited to register it this year. Other car owners also said the rush for the registration and renewal of their documents was for them to avoid a brush with the law. Complaints Some applicants, who spoke with the Daily Graphic expressed displeasure with the slow pace of the exercise. “I came around 5am to register my car. The process is boring. The queue they asked us to join is also not moving,” Mr Issahaku Andani told the Daily Graphic. He said his interest was not the new plate because he bought his vehicle in the last week of December. He blamed the slow nature of the process on the fact that there was only one customs officer checking the documents of vehicles. “They should have a lot of staff working on the registration process because at this time, there is always a lot of pressure,” he added. The Head of Public Relations of the DVLA, Mr Kwaku Darko Aferi, agreed that the process was slow but maintained, “you can’t ignore certain things and go ahead to issue the number plate.  We have to be sure that the vehicles we are registering are road-worthy. It is important to ensure that once we give the owners the chance to be on our roads, they are not going to compromise safety. We have seen how chaotic the process becomes at this time, that is why we are not allowing all the vehicles in like that,” he added. Commendation Mr Ben Adu, who had completed the registration formalities, told the Daily Graphic that even though the process was cumbersome, there was significant improvement from the past. “There is some form of order and coordination now, unlike in the past when the whole place is usually chaotic.” According to the DVLA figures, in the first quarter of last year, the Greater Accra Region registered the highest number of new vehicles, 26,212, in Accra, Tema, and Weija. The DVLA office in Accra recorded 12,237; Tema  8,141; and Weija  5,834. The number of vehicles registered for the whole country increased from 41,828 in 2012 to 49,537, representing an 18 per cent increase in vehicles between January and April. The numbers also mean more business for the middlemen, popularly known as ‘goro boys’, who take advantage of the system to make money from desperate applicants. The “goro boys” were all over at the entrance, harassing drivers and car owners to assist them to go through the registration and renewal of their documents easily. In that respect, the Deputy Director of Security of the DVLA, Mr Emmanuel Moncar, urged the public to be cautious of people who approached them at the DVLA offices to help speed up the process for a fee. “They should look for the DVLA staff. We all have our ID cards. We have tags.  Any other person you find inside is here for registration and not a DVLA staff. We advise that you deal with DVLA staff wearing tags,” he concluded.  

  Christians have been advised to stop paying prophets to pray for them. The Bishop of the Lighthouse Chapel International in charge of Central Region, Bishop Jake Godwyll said it was time Christians learnt to pray for their needs and stopped paying men of God for prayer. "Pray your own prayer in 2014 and stop going round paying prophets to pray for you," he stated. Preaching a sermon on Pray So You Do Not Enter Into Temptation to usher in the New Year at the Church in Cape Coast, Bishop Godwyll said the life of a Christian who did not pray was left to chance. He said a life of prayer was also subjected to the curses of this world including the curse of Adam, Eve and Ham. Bishop Jake said rather than pay prophets to pray, Christians must develop strong prayer lives to enable them to adjust things spiritually in their favour. He noted that prayer was an expression of ones personal faith in God and an indication that one had a personal relationship with God which was the basis of everyone's Christian faith. He said Christians must learn to pray themselves and believe in their prayer to live victoriously in the new year.  The Church prayed to usher in the New Year and sang praises thanking God to welcome the new year.