Enugu Clamps Down On Beggars, Destitutes

The Enugu State Ministry of Gender Affairs and Social Welfare has embarked on an operation to rid the state capital of destitute and beggars.

The Commissioner, Mrs Ndidi Chukwu, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday.

Chukwu said the programme entailed bi-weekly raid on beggars and mentally-challenged people.

She said the exercise was being conducted in partnership with security agents, the Enugu Capital Development Authority, the Neighborhood Watch Association and three local governments’ councils in Enugu metropolis.

“We want a situation where one organisation will be in the street on a daily basis chasing destitute and beggars away.

“Those people we call beggars are professional beggars. They hire destitute to be their guides and pay them small amounts.

“Some of the professional beggars will go and hire children and at the end of the day, they will pay their parents five per cent of the money they made on that day.

“The professional beggars were able bodied men and women. They are always in the street because they make money more than university graduates who are working,’’ she said.