By Laudia Sawer
Tema, March 26, GNA – The Social Workers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has called on the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection to champion the passage of the Social Workers Bill, currently before Parliament, to change the plight of social workers.
It noted that the bill, when passed into law, would help in the licensing of social workers, regulate professional operations, set up a council and board for them, and eliminate fake practitioners from the profession, among other things, and urged parliamentarians to expedite action on it.
Mr Devine A. K. Exorgbe, the SWAG President, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema, he said the Association was drawing government’s attention to some of the major challenges members faced in the discharge of their duties.
He made the call in commemoration of the World Social Work Day, marked on March 21, on the theme: “Respecting Diversity Through Joint Social Action”.
The Day is an opportunity to acknowledge how communities could engage in actions leading to inclusive social transformation.
Mr Exorgbe identified inadequate resources for the implementation of programmes and projects, proper legislation to govern the social work practice, absence of social welfare department at the Head of Local Government Service, and poorly trained social staff in the government sector.
Social workers should be added to the security recruitment list, as well as have a licensing system to ensure effective service delivery to positively affect lives of the vulnerable.
“It is evident that a developing country like Ghana needs a well-structured social welfare system to bring social workers into the limelight and or at the forefront to work for the desired development of the country,” he said.
The observation of the World Social Work Day on every third Tuesday in March, Mr Exorgbe said, provided the professionals the opportunity to celebrate their achievements and raise awareness on their important role in the lives of children, families, and communities facing adversity.
The Day also calls for further planning, development, and support to the profession and social service sectors in general.
“Let us uphold the ethics and principles that guide our noble profession. Social work is a gratifying profession that allows you to say at the end of each day, ‘I made a difference in someone’s life.”
GNA