CONTROL SCOURGE OF CHILD LABOUR (FEB 9)

CHILD Labour has again received media spotlight, with scores of children at Atimpoku in the Eastern Region reported to be engaged in the rather risky business of ferrying tourists in canoes not equipped with safety gadgets.
This is yet another case of children engaged in what could be described as a hazardous form of labour and it raises serious concerns.
The issue is one that never seems to rest and in some instances the international community has found cause to call for action against child labour in developing countries, including Ghana.
Indeed, there is the need to distinguish between child labour that is injurious to the child and work that children do to assist their parents and which is not necessarily harmful to them.
For most Ghanaian families, the engagement of children in some form of work is not an adverse practice. Indeed, the recourse to depending on children to run commercial errands that do not impair their future is not misplaced.
Some children, very much aware of the economic challenges that their families face, are always willing to help with generating some funds to support their parents and guardians. Clearly, not everything done by children to assist their parents should be referred to as a dangerous or hazardous form of labour.
However, the issue becomes worrying when such activities are inimical to the children’s pursuit of academic goals and/or place their lives in danger.
In most villages and communities, pupils assist their parents on their farms and in the market. Along the coast and in some fishing communities, the involvement of children in fishing activities has consistently been condemned, but the act still persists and there have been reports that some parents are actively involved in getting their children into such hazardous forms of child labour for financial gain.
Articles 26, 27 and 28 of the 1992 Constitution elaborately outline the rights of children and the fact that they need to be protected from activities that may injure their future.
Article 28 (2) categorically states that “every child has the right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his health, education or development”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to challenge Ghanaian parents and guardians to be alive to those constitutional obligations and ensure that their children and wards are not unduly exploited by their engagement in dangerous and hazardous forms of labour.
There is the recognition that because of our cultural heritage and socio-economic challenges, children cannot entirely be exempted from all forms of work, especially when some work actually contributes towards moulding their characters and making them responsible and disciplined personalities.
However, we wish to advise that the engagement of children in any form of work must be done in the most responsible manner to ensure that their future is not injured in any way.
The responsibility is not that of only parents and guardians. As has clearly been demonstrated, the media and the general public also have an important role to play in exposing any form of labour that has the potential to jeopardise the future of children.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, urges the Minister designate for Women and Children’s Affairs, Ms Akua Sena Dansua, to demonstrate a passionate commitment to the fight against child labour in order to facilitate the smooth development and growth of our children into responsible adults.