Mamponteng (Ash) Feb.23 GNA- President John Agyekum Kufuor's special Golden Jubilee Party for children has been held at Mamponteng in the Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.

It was organised by the Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC) under the auspices of the Ministry of Women and Children, the Regional Coordinating Council and the District Assembly.

Addressing the over 500 school children, Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Regional Minister, said in a speech read on his behalf that government was committed to enhance the welfare of the nation especially that of children.
He said the commitment was manifested in government's development plan dubbed: "Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II", which focused on good governance, Human Resource Development and Private Sector Development with programme objectives and activities highlighting issues of children, gender mainstreaming, vulnerability and exclusion. The Regional Minister said the early years of every young person was the foundation for the development of that person and that it was in recognition of this that the Early Child Care and Development policy was vigorously being implemented.
He warned that trafficking of people especially children was fast growing in Ghana and that the information available indicates that the country served as a supplier, receiver and transit point. Mr Owusu-Ansah stressed that steps were being taken to combat the phenomenon at all levels.
Mr Andy Boye - Agyeman, Regional Coordinator of the GNCC called on the children to be submissive and respectful to their teachers and parents in order to be assisted in their preparation towards their future lives. Mr Boye - Agyekum urged the teachers to have patience for the children and exhibit good characteristics worthy of emulation.
Alhaji Akwasi Yeboah, District Chief Executive (DCE) noted that parental control was slackening very fast and most parents had little or no control over their children.
He therefore called on parents, teachers, traditional authorities, religious organisations and the law enforcement agencies to assist the government in its crusade of bringing back wayward children to the classroom for quality education.
The DCE told the children to make good use of the opportunities created for them by the government to learn very hard to become useful citizens. Reverend Samuel Affainie Amankwa, District Director of Education said 50 years was a symbol of gold and urged the children to take advantage of the period and think of what they could do for the nation.