Govt to arrest kind-hearted people

Advertisement
Dr. Mary Shawa

Government in conjunction with the Malawi Police Service (MPS) says they will be arresting people who will be giving money to street beggars.

According to principal secretary in the ministry of gender, children, disability and social welfare, Mary Shaba, the policy will commence soon.

Shaba said the ministry will as well net all parents who will be allowing their kids to live in the country’s streets especially in the cities where there are high number of street beggars.

“This is true because what the ministry is doing is just evoking the provisions in the Child Care, Protection and Justice Act which states that if parents allows the children to beg in the street, that is amounting to negligence,” said Shaba.

Dr. Mary Shawa
Shaba: Street kids are haunting us.

She added that parents need to take care of their children at home saying in the streets, anything bad can happen to the children.

Shaba further said if it is implemented, the plan will beautify the streets in the country.

However, some street beggars who spoke with this publication in the commercial city of Blantyre said they are not welcoming the development since some of them can’t manage to feed themselves without begging.

According to one of the beggars, who is physically challenged and begs at Nandozi in Blantyre, they have nowhere to go.

“Yeah we understand some of us do rob people’s property but it’s not all of us. Government need to do us favour, we have nowhere to go,” said the source.

Another beggar, Maggie Mwanyama, who is visually impaired, said they can’t even afford to live without begging.