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'Mongu Social Welfare Can't Handle Cases of
Vulnerable Kids’
By Perpetual Sichikwenkwe in Mongu
THE Department of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Community Development
and Social Services in Mongu has said it is failing to cope up with the
number of cases that affects vulnerable children in the area because of lack
of human resource.
Out-going District Social Welfare Officer Beston Mboozi told The LRF News in
an interview that the department had been unable to properly handle cases of
vulnerable children because of lack of human resources and inefficiency in
the judicial system. Mboozi was referring to complaints by 12 juveniles at
Mongu Central Prison who told Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) that since
March this year, officers from the Social Welfare Department have never
visited them to find out their problems.
Mboozi said when he was transferred to Lusaka in January this year, he left
the office in the hands of a district community development officer from the
Ministry of Community who is acting at the moment but because he was not
very conversant with the statutory functions it was difficult for him to
attend to juveniles.
“There is a crisis of human resources, especially in places like Mongu
because most people refuse to be posted to such places due to economic and
other reasons. And myself also I have been transferred to Lusaka because
even there, they is a shortage of human resources” he said.
Mboozi, however, said measures to solve the problem were being put in place
as the ministry was in the process of employing more officers and he hoped
that the new officers will accept to be posted to places like Mongu.
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