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The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) says child labour, in whatever form, is an indictment on society and must not be condoned.
It said this in a release issued to the Ghana News Agency in commemoration of this year’s Child Labour Day.
COCOBOD, with its partners, adopted the theme “Children Deserve to be in the Classroom, not the farm. Let’s eliminate Child Labour”, to help end the practice.
It said the theme reflected the premium COCOBOD placed on education in shaping a brighter future for children.
“We firmly believe that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive in a safe and nurturing learning environment.”
The release said COCOBOD, had, over the years, collaborated with other state institutions such as the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to work towards attaining a child labour-free cocoa industry in Ghana.
“As part of the commitment to the provision of basic education for children in cocoa-growing communities, the Board of Directors of COCOBOD, after broad consultations, has approved the reallocation of its SHS-scholarship fund for the construction of basic schools in cocoa-growing communities, following the government’s implementation of the free SHS programme.”
The release said other interventions included mainstreaming child labour education and sensitisation into the extension work of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), the Environmental and Social Sustainability Project (ESSP), which included an anti-child labour component.
Other interventions are the ongoing process to synchronise standards of child labour based on value systems through the African Regional Standards (ARSO) and the development of a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System linked to the Cocoa Management System (CMS).
It reiterated COCOBOD’s commitment to continuously work with stakeholders to address all issues relating to child labour in Ghana’s cocoa sector.
“However, it is crucial to call for circumspection in our deliberations to avoid confusing child work with exploitative child labour.”
It appealed to farmers, the media, and civil society organisations to continue to support the worthy course, stressing “Our children deserve to be in the classroom and not the farm.”
