Lilongwe City Council to remove disabled beggars from streets
Mayor for the Lilongwe City Council (LCC) Juliana Kaduya has disclosed that the council has now started removing people with disabilities and children who are begging for alms on the streets.
Kaduya made the remarks during a gender-based violence (GBV) awareness campaign, which the Lilongwe City Female Councillors organized with funding from UN Women through NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) and Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA).
The female councillors are implementing a project designed to stamp out violence and enhance acceptance Covid-19 vaccine among women and girls in all the 66 wards across the country.
Among others, the female councillors are holding public awareness meetings in selected schools and public spaces on the need to tackle violence in the wards and the need to go for the Covid-19 vaccine currently under administration in selected health facilities across the country.
And speaking at Mkwichi Secondary School on Saturday, Kaduya said an international organization – Give Directly – has offered to provide persons with disabilities and families of street children with financial support to enable them start small scale businesses.
“We are removing all the street kids and persons with disabilities. We have started now and next week, people will not see the children and people with disabilities begging on the streets,” she said.
Kaduya said they are implementing the initiative in partnership with various stakeholders such as the Malawi Police and the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare.
“We’re aware that when removed, disabled people and street kids usually return on the streets. But this time, we will ensure that they don’t return and I can assure you, we are not leaving any stone unturned to ensure they remain in their homes,” she assured.
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) councillor for Chigoneka Ward, Rose Antonio, said violence is a major contributor of drug and substance abuse among the youths in the country.
Antonio said political leaders have a great role to address it.
So u mean to just remove them from the street and leave them with no food the best way is to open shelters for those and people and feed them
This is attrocious and inhumane. Human being aren’t trash that you can clean off the streets
First remove the vendors lining in the streets and find a Tonse poverty alleviation solution for the poor beggars
This is a good move and very commendable. To those giving financial support for the disabled people or families to start businesses, I hope there will be a deliberate initiative to help them in the type of business they can do and also how to do business. Business is not only about happing capital. Otherwise they will eat that money and get back on the streets. In additional be ready to see an influx of disabled people on the streets after they learn that if you go on the streets to beg you will get capital for business.
U shud also demolish those shacks in town not only beggars …but u have started well any way
193 constituencies with 66 wards across the country?
Here’s another job for the ACB, the Police and the Ombudsman. The way I know Malawi, the funds meant for rehabilitation of these street beggars will end up in the pockets of officials and politicians. Mark my words.