Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North Constituency is calling for the regulation of the activities of US-based charity, International Justice Mission (IJM) in Ghana following a BBC Africa Eye exposé.

The documentary showed an anti-human trafficking scheme where children are wrongfully identified as victims.

The BBC exposé also revealed that children who were happily living with their relatives were unjustifiably removed from their homes without any evidence of going through one form of labour or the other.

Following this, the Afram Plains North MP, Betty Nana Efuah Krosbi Mensah said these NGOs are just meeting their targets and do not care whether the children rescued are actually victims.

According to her, she was not surprised at the recent exposé following the BBC's probe into the activities of IJM and other NGOs who claim to rescue trafficked children.

She condemned IJM's activities exposed by the BBC investigation, and expressed concern about publications that suggest there is pervasive child trafficking in communities along the Lake Volta.

Mrs Mensah further noted that she does not believe the objectives of these NGOs are actually to rescue child trafficking victims.

She, however, called for directives that can be implemented to reduce the activities of these NGOs and protect Ghanaian children.

“And so with me, I don't think the objective was rescue because of course, when it comes to issues of trafficking, there are serious matters that need to be addressed.

“However, I feel that their mode of operating or their way of going about their business is not one of the best, and I feel we should regulate their activities and see how best we can protect the ordinary Ghanaian child, as well as making sure that real perpetrators are brought to book,” the Afram Plains North MP stressed.

Nevertheless, Mrs Mensah who was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday called on the legislative body to investigate the activities of IJM in Ghana.

According to her, Parliament should reconsider the country’s anti-human trafficking laws which she says are often exploited by NGOs.

"We are MPs coming from various constituencies and I must tell you that when it comes to this IJM issue, it's not just limited to fishing communities, they go to farming communities as well so every MP that has some rural constituency to his name should be concerned about the issue."

She noted that these NGOs are using the Trafficking Act, vis-a-vis the Children's Act, to undertake their operations and urged Parliament to be more interested in the laws that are passed.

"If there’s a need for us to have a critical look at this Children's Act and then Trafficking Act to see if there's a need for us to do some sort of amendment to ensure that at the end of the day, the ordinary Ghanaian or the Ghanaian children are protected, then it must be done," Mrs Mensah said.