Abandoned kids: Woe, ye, delinquent dads

by Sylivester Domasa & Bernad Lugongo

MEN who abandon their children to women with whom they have had the kids now face tough times as the government gears up to deal with such delinquency legally.

The deputy minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Faustine Ndugulile, told the National Assembly yesterday that moves to enact a new Law (Child Act) had come to meet the current challenges within the community. “We are in the process to enact a new law on community development that would befit the current situation,” he pledged.
The assurance comes in the wake of mounting concerns from the MPs from both the ruling party and opposition camp who say acts of men abandoning their children to women … who then struggle to raise them single-handedly – were now becoming commonplace. Ms Hawa Subira Mwaifunga (Special Seats - CHADEMA), asked why the government did not consider reviewing the laws on community development to make them more stringent to eliminate such behaviour.
“There’s an increase in the number of the street children in the cities … (mainly) because of irresponsible fathers,” she said, during question- time. In a dramatic turn, however, the MP for Konde, Mr Khatib Said Haji (CUF), said he had witnessed women visiting Parliament premises in search of the male MPs who have impregnated and abandoned them … and their children.
“Does the government see the need for making public announcements that women who have had children with MPs - but abandoned them both soon after - should bring those children to Parliament to shame the culprits?” He queried. Even then, Dr Ndugulile reiterated that the law requires them to go and report those issues to the police (gender desk) instead of bringing the children to the House.
According to Dr Ndugulile, surveys from six regions of Mwanza, Iringa, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Mbeya and Arusha had since established the extent of the problem. In the six regions, the study found that there were 7,748 street children, out of whom 6,365 were roaming the streets, only getting back to sleep at home whereas the remaining 1,365 were sleeping in the streets.
After government intervention, 952 of those children had since been reunited with their families.
Dr Ndugulile reminded the public to report any violation of children’s rights as the law requires. Article 95 of the Law of the Child Act says it shall be the duty of any member of the community who has evidence or information that a child’s rights are being infringed or that a parent, a guardian or relative having custody of a child who is able to, but refuses or neglects to provide the child with food, shelter, right to play or leisure, clothing, medical care and education, to report the matter to the local government.