A Street beggar, Derrick Amponsah, has revealed that begging is a lucrative and profit making venture which puts food on his table.
Mr. Amponsah, one of the disabled skaters in Accra said although they acknowledge the risk factor when patrolling the street, they beg to take care of their families.
The disabled skater, who has been begging for the past 12 years, told the DAILY HERITAGE in an interview that he could not find a job that paid well and that he had benefitted immensely from begging on the street.
He said though the government provided them with jobs the salary he earned in a month was not as much compared to being on the street.
“I can earn as much as GH¢30.00 to GH¢ 50.00 a day, that is if business is good. I have been begging for the past 20 years and I used the money in taking care of myself and children. I was able to rent a house for my family through begging.
“I have profited a lot from begging. I have used the same money to cater for my children to the Senior High School level and I am very proud of that.”
A commercial driver, Kojo Mensah, in an interview said the skaters move in between their vehicles all the time when they are driving. He said they are always careful not to knock them down with their vehicles.
“It is even dangerous in the evening when there are no lights or when there is brake failure, the person can easily be killed,” he stated.
Some passengers also said they see the begging business as disturbing and described the beggars as nuisance. “If they ask you for money and you don't give them they rather become angry and insult you.”
A policeman the paper chanced upon said the beggars pose a lot of threat to road users and that sometimes he stops vehicles when he does not need to, which can be very irritating.
The policeman said sometimes he finds it difficult in controlling them. He said occasionally he is compelled to arrest the beggars just to put fear in them to stop coming to the roadside.
He suggested that government should find a way of taking them off the streets.
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