Ace Investigative Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has pointed out he will not cooperate with a Ministerial Committee set up to investigate inmate abuses and other harrowing happenings at the Osu Children’s Home following what he says are prejudicial comments made by Employment and Social Welfare Minister, ET Mensah. Anas is upset with the sector minister for questioning the motive of a seven-month long investigative piece on the home which exposes widespread abuse of inmates and other criminal conducts by staff of the flagship home. ET Mensah told Joy News Thursday, a day after the video aired on TV stations across the country, that he was disappointed the Ministry and officials of the Social Welfare Department were not contacted before the video was publicized. He was also worried the footage could have negative implications on Ghana’s integrity and image. ET Mensah was not too sure the motive behind the investigation but said a committee has been instituted, headed by the Deputy Employment and Social Welfare Minister to ascertain the veracity of the damning revelations unearthed in the undercover footage. Director of the Social Welfare Department, Stephen Adongo has also questioned the authenticity of the footage. He told Joy News’ Sammy Darko his outfit had paid an unannounced visit to the Home a few weeks ago and that conditions they saw on that occasion were in contrast with those captured by Anas Aremeyaw Anas. He will not condone the physical assault and molestations captured in the video but said there is a limit to what the care takers can accommodate given the overwhelming and frustrating situation they find themselves in. Mr. Adongo said the pictures of sores on the bodies of some of the inmates did not reflect the true situation on the ground since those sores had already festered when the inmates were admitted. He played down on allegations of thievery against the care takers implicated for selling or sharing donations to the Home. But the architect of the video footage, Anas Aremeyaw Anas did not take kindly to the comments by the the Minister and head of the Social Welfare Department. “I have not manufactured any evidence,” he said, adding that pictures taken were of real personnel and situations at the Osu Children’s Home. He said ET Mensah’s comments that the key stakeholders were not consulted before the documentary was made can only be false, adding the stakeholders were contacted every step of the way. He called for an independent committee to investigate the damning revelations because he could not trust the objectivity of ET Mensah’s Committee. "How will I cooperate with the committee when they have started casting aspersions at my work even before the committee sits," he quizzed. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana