By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Sports Minister Emmanuel Mulenga has called on the residents of Chingola to stop giving handouts to children on the street as this will deter them from staying in the streets.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Chingola District Commissioner Agnes Tonga, Mr Mulenga said that what brings children in town is the money they ask from people.
He said once people stop giving them money, they will stop moving in streets.
He said people who want to be giving money to children on the street should do so through the District Commissioner’s office who knows where to distribute the money.
The minister said that police should also come in and see to it that there are no children on the streets.
Mr Mulenga is on the Copperbelt on a program to remove children from the street.
He said Government want to provide a conducive environment for children on the street to become productive citizen of the country in future.
He said government want to see that no child is on the streets because it attaches great value to the children’s wellbeing.
And Ms Tonga said the move is a noble call from government to remove the children and find them better place to live in.
She said that it hurts as a parent to see children being wasted on the streets smoking and drinking.
She said it was not an easy task to remove kids from the street but it a good gesture.
