The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) has disclosed that 1,320 Nigerien beggars on the street of Accra have been repatriated.
The repatriation of the beggars forms part of an operation dubbed ‘Operation get off the street and street-connected project’, aimed at reducing the menace of streetism in Ghana.
In a statement issued on May 25, 2022, the gender ministry said that the exercise was done by the Embassy of Niger in collaboration with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and other relevant stakeholders.
“The One Thousand Three Hundred and Twenty comprised of three hundred (300) adult males, four hundred (400) adult females and six hundred and twenty (620) children; out of which two hundred (200) are males and four hundred and twenty (420) are females,” portions of the statement read.
“On Tuesday, 7th June 2022, the Consulate of Niger repatriated the first batch of five hundred and fifteen (515) Nigeriens to Niamey-Niger around 12:40 pm by air. The rest were also emplaned to their home country in Niger around 5:30 pm on Wednesday, 8th June 2022,” the statement added.
Also, the ministry said that the repatriation of the beggars was the first phase of measures it has put in place to deal with the menace of streetism in the country, adding that an Inter-Ministerial and Technical Committee is working on finding a lasting solution to the menace.
View the full statement by the ministry plus pictures and a video of the beggars arriving in Niger below: