Halting Child Labour in Ghana

On every 2nd of October, World children day is celebrated and this year 2015 also marks a decade and a half (15years) when in June 2000, Ghana ratified the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on worst Forms of Child Labour.

Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989, ratified by 191 countries, states that every child (anyone under 18) “has the right to be protected from work that threatens his or her health, education or development”.

The CRC also states that every child has a right to education. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, ratified by 136 countries, prohibits the most extreme forms of child labour that involve children being enslaved, held in bondage, separated from their families, or exposed to serious hazards and illnesses.

ILO Convention 138 on minimum age at work, 1973, ratified by 123 countries, sets age limits for different types of work but millions of children still work for long hours on plantations in and or in factories in the world.

The 2015 World Day Against Child Labour was held in Ghana under the theme: No to Child Labour, Yes to Quality Education.

Precisely, the future leaders of the country, Priests, Pastors, Engineers, Lawyers, Journalists, Medical Doctors and other professionals would be having along way to go as about two million Ghanaian children are engaged in various forms of child labour. These children who engage in various sectors of the economy including commercial, agriculture, fishing, weaving, mining, truck pushing, pottery and illegal mining (galamsey) under all circumstances are supposed to be in the classroom.

Their activities in a way could be equated to the slave trade in the ancient day Ghana after over 200 years of the abolishing of slave trade in Africa. As humanitarian sentiments grew in Western Europe with the Age of Enlightenment and the growth of religious groups and as European economic interests shifted slowly from agriculture to industry, a movement grew to abolish the slave trade and the practice of slavery.

Children are the future leaders of Ghana and when those who find themselves in deplorable and needy situations are not well catered for, it adds on to the already existing problems the nation is battling with.

In 1807, the slave trade was outlawed in Britain and the United States. Britain outlawed the practice of slavery in all British territory in 1833; France did the same in its colonies in 1848. In 1865 the US government ended slavery. The Atlantic slave trade continued, however, until 1888, when Brazil abolished slavery.

But, all over the world today, children’s rights, protection and welfare are very important component of all nations’ human capital development. The success story of any government depends on her commitment towards social development policies, addressing the needs of young people. Ghana is a leader in children’s welfare and protection. In the world, Ghana was the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Hence, a comprehensive Act 560 for the protection of children in Ghana.

In West and Central Africa, it is acknowledged that Agricultural fields, gold and diamond mines, stone quarry, informal sector and domestic work are activities with high child labour force.

Over the past 15 years, a number of interventions have been implemented by various partners including mandated government ministries, departments and agencies, Workers’ organization, employers association, NGOs and other civil society groups including the media.

The Ministry of Employment and Lobour Relations had recently expressed worry over the rising figure of the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round Six (GLSS 6) 2014 report on child labour. According to the Ministry, the GLSS 6 2014 report estimated that 8.7 million children aged 5-17 years which represents 21.8 percent are engaged in child labour.

Also, a recent data published by the UNESCO on school enrolment indicates that 58 million children of primary school age and 63 million children of Junior High School age are still not enrolled in school.

Even though we are in the 21st century, child labour continues to deprive thousands of individuals especially; children. This is why the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 adopted the convention on the rights of the child. Within ten years, 191 countries had ratified it, making it most widely ratified human rights instrument in history.

Unfortunately, some children aged between five and 17 years in Ghana prefer to be involved in working in the various sectors mentioned above than being in school. It is sad that in the history of globalization, many Ghanaian children are deprived of education and forced into a life of misery and poverty. In Ghana, however children constitute 52% (0-18 years) of the population.

On many occasions, Ghanaian Rights Organisations including an Accra-based Legal Resource Centre has warned that, despite efforts to fight child labour in the country, around 20 percent of the nation's children are engaged in labour. The problem is a lack of sufficient labour inspectors, or inspectors doing a poor job.

According to The Legal Resources Centre more and better labour inspectors must be put in place to address the problem. "We either need a far greater number of labour inspectors or the current labour inspectors must do a better job. The status quo is unacceptable. Labour inspectors must be made accountable. When problems continue to exist in regions, the labour inspectors of those specific areas must be evaluated and held accountable."

The government of Ghana has passed several laws and signed a number of treaties to guard against exploitative forms of child labour. Article 28 of the 1992 Constitution prohibits labour that is considered injurious to the health, education, or development of the child. Ghana has also signed three key international treaties that ban certain practices of child labour.

The provision in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana on the rights of children, led Government to the creation of Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, Department of Children, Social Welfare, Special Police Unit for Child Protection.

Additionally, Ghana has passed its own laws on child labour. This includes the Children's Act of 1998 and the Labour Act of 2003, both of which address child labour in detail. The Children's Act bans all exploitative labour and echoes the 1992 Constitution's prohibition by defining this type of labour as that which denies a child of health, education or development. The Act additionally bans a number of child labour practices that it lists as "hazardous".

Interestingly, there is an ardent belief that when the educational opportunities are facilitated to access quality education and training of children and mobilising communities against child labour, Ghana will go a long way to minimize the problems of these children.

Situations in other African countries is no different from Ghana, as many children abandoned school and opt to work to earn a living just because of either broken family or single parenthood.

Statistics from the 2000 population census of Ghana indicates that over 60,000 children of school-going age failed to enroll in school in some districts especially in the Ashanti Region.

Children as a matter of interest are the treasures and assets of every country and are the ones who will hold the fore in the years to come. Therefore, talents and time must be invested in them by all and sundry.

Making rounds through the principals streets of major cities in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Koforidua, confirms how some children are neglected by their parents because of either they (parent) are unemployed or financially handicapped.

Some of the Children live on the streets because they were probably born there, some of the youth also flee from forced marriages, while others migrate to the urban areas in search of non-existing jobs, hence get impregnated.

Apart from the serious problems children in Ghana are facing such as school drop-out, child mortality, , child labour, child trafficking, rape, defilement and non-maintenance of children, There are over 800,000 children who are not in School, 50% of children who sit for BECE in Public Schools never get admission to Secondary Schools, there is an increasing gap between the urban child and rural child in terms of access and quality to education and the high rate of school dropout in rural areas.

Despite the efforts by the current government to have a place in schools for children some children were reported to have dropped out of school before they could complete their Junior Secondary Education. The Ghanaian child needs to be protected to sustain the future of the nation.

As a result of these, a lot of these children unpalatably are seen in the hot sun selling biscuits, ice water, toilet roll, toffees and other things just to make a living and the question that comes into mind to a common person is ,do our children have a future after fifty years of independence?

Happily, the Ministry of Children, Gender and Social Protection, headed by Hon. Nana Oye Lithur, on July 9, 2015 announced that the Government was working on its legal regime in a holistic manner to create the enabling environment for especially children and women.

The Ministry is therefore strengthening the legal and policy framework to enhance development of the vulnerable and needy especially women and children.

On Tuesday July 14, 2015, President John Dramani Mahama launched a child and family Welfare Policy, which seeks to establish a well-structured and coordinated Child and Family System that promotes the wellbeing of children.

Ghanaians should be guided by article 28 of the 1992 constitution that “every child has the right to same measure of special care, assistance and maintenance.” This calls for all Ghanaians especially governments, Church leaders, politicians and parents to be submissive to the Children’s Act of 1998, which prohibits anybody to subject children to inhuman treatment.

It is time Political parties and their Presidential Candidates take a critical look at this area of making the life of children a better one as one of its major priorities. Children need to be protected against all acts of violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination and rape.

However, it should be the joy of Ghanaians that Government of Ghana has put in a number of interventions to increase access to basic education including Capitation Grants, School feeding programme, Free Textbooks/exercise books, free School uniforms and footwear for needy pupils.

Since 2008, about 2,000 Schools under trees have been completed with the believe that when greater percentage of the population are educated, it would reduce poverty and vulnerability and provide people with the needed skills to be self-dependent and profitable.

Creating a society fit for the Ghanaian child means all children should get the best possible start of life and have access to quality basic education. They need to be helped to develop their individual capacities in a safe and supportive environment.

This is the outmost need for every Ghanaian to promote the physical, social, emotional, spiritual development of children to make Ghana one of the countries that have designed programmes for children on the African continent.

Ghanaians as well as humanitarian Organisations should seriously take into consideration as Ghana approaches the general elections in December 2016, to ensure that the Presidential Candidates present their child development policy to Ghanaians for all to access them on how their policy will target the 52% of our population who are children (0 – 18years).

It has also become necessary for them to let Ghanaians know their vision for the Ghanaian children in order to protect the inherent dignity of children in Ghana and campaign for fair and good life for children.