Kumasi Race Course head porters to be evacuated

The Upper East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) has initiated plans to evacuate head porters affected by the recent Kumasi Race Course demolition, to the Region.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, announced this when he welcomed 50 head porters, the first batch to be transported to the Region on Monday.

The Regional Minister said he had directed all the Municipal and District Assemblies in the Region to support the evacuation of about 500 remaining head porters in Kumasi.

He reminded Ghanaians that under the Child Labour Act, it was wrong to engage children in labour.

The Kumasi Raise Course is being demolished to pave way for a project known as “Sun City Project”.

Mr Woyongo lamented that most of the head porters were school children, who had traveled to the city to do menial jobs.

He said government was improving conditions including the provision of school uniforms and exercise books and wondered why children should travel to the cities to work as head porters.

Mr Woyongo said the head porters would be sent back to school and they would be provided with school uniforms and exercise books free of charge, and the school leavers among them would be engaged in the National Youth Employment Programme.

He advised children in the Region to desist from migrating to the Southern part of the country.

Mr Awine Atambire, one of the affected porters, commended the RCC for the initiative.

He said the head porters were engaged in hard labour, which was injurious to their health and appealed to children not to work ask head porters adding, “Some of us were made to sleep in kiosks where people attempted to rape us and many of those who were raped became pregnant”.

Source: GNA