Rammidi Calls For Inclusion Of Community Leaders

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Monday July 12, 2010 00:00

 

Speaking at a High Level consultative breakfast meeting to accelerate the implementation of the Act, which was passed in 2009, at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) on Friday, Kentse Rammidi said that community leaders are the people who could help disseminate the Act efficiently to the grassroots. 'It is one thing to have a law and another to understand it. Dikgosi are the most appropriate people to engage as they have better access to the communities and the parents of the children. You must not only address the councillors, people will look at it like a political matter and leave it like that,' he said.

The Act, that has been described as the most important milestone in Botswana's efforts to realise all children's rights for all of the country's current and future children, caused an uproar with the section that calls for the right of each child to have the names of both parents on their birth certificates even if they are born out of wedlock.

Rammidi said that the new law is overreaching and calls for a multi-sectoral approach if its intentions are to be fully achieved. He said children's issues are cross-cutting and some of the laws, programmes and policies might need to be realigned to the provisions and standards enshrined in the Act.

When contributing to the matter, Vision 2016 Council secretary, Mpho Makgema advised that the Act be unpacked to be reader friendly so children can read and understand what it is about.

On his part, permanent secretary, Thato Raphaka said they hope the different ministries with conflicting laws and policies to the Act would cooperate when approached with a view to harmonising the laws. He appealed to those responsible in setting up different structures to work hard in putting them in place. He revealed that it is an achievement that the Children's Council might be approved by Cabinet this week as one of the structures to be set up.

UNICEF deputy country representative Marcus Betts said during their annual plan they have undertaken to support the MoLG to, among other things, accelerate the implementation of the Children's Act, which includes provision of technical assistance. Furthermore, the establishment of the Inter-Agency Child Protection Coordinating Committee as a technical committee, which they fully support, is a step in the right direction, especially in view that it will implement the resolutions of the National Children's Council to be established in due course.

'We are committed to support efforts geared towards capacity building and institutional strengthening within government and civil organisations especially targeting service providers such as social workers, police and judicial officers, just to mention a few,' he said.

To generate momentum on the implementation of the Act, UNICEF Botswana is collaborating with the MoLG to convene a meeting where participants, including permanent secretaries from different ministries, heads of civil society and international organisations that are role players in the implementation of the Act, will thrash out the way forward.