The Executive Director of Child Rights International (CRI), Bright Appiah, has suggested that for communities involved in child labor to be properly sensitized, database is needed.
Speaking about the involvement of children on cocoa farms as the nation marks National Cocoa Week, he indicated that the database will enable authorities monitor activities of the children to check their involvement in farming at the detriment of their health and education.
“We need to have a data base on our farmers. It’s one of the things that we don’t do. So, because of that we are unable to detect issues within the farming house holds.”
Bright Appiah
According to Bright Appiah, looking at the system now as we have it, calls for the creation of a community register to help ensure the community members are sensitized and monitored.
“So, each community that you detect child labor, you create a community register so you know the number of people in that community and how they relate with their children and their education.”
Bright Appiah
Bright Appiah’s comments follow a research by Child Rights International which indicated that 2 out of 10 children are being exposed to some form of hazardous work or farming.
Touching on the involvement of regulatory bodies to ensure there is compliance of the law, he disclosed that the bodies involved are to do their jobs properly. He indicated that it is the duty of COCOBOD and the Chief Labor Officer to ensure laws are complied with.
Mr. Appiah posited that COCOBOD must ensure compliance and then the Chief Labor Officer must monitor activities in the farming communities.
“It becomes the responsibility of the labor officer to make sure that the child is employed in a conducive environment because for you to employ a child at that level, it requires that anytime the child comes to the work place, record must be taken.”
Bright Appiah
Work has to be done
Bright Appiah suggesting ways to make cocoa production clean beyond the child labor negativities around it, disclosed that there is a lot of work that needs to be done due to global concerns on children being used in cocoa farms.
Mr. Appiah revealed that there’s no where in the nation’s legislation that states that children should not work but rather, the law states that the condition under which children work must be conducive and must not have an effect on them, especially when it comes to their right to education and health.
“Once you look at it in that context, you can allow children to do certain types of work but under strict supervision. There’s work that is described as light work and then they can even be employed at a certain age to work.”
Bright Appiah
Touching on the age ranges captured for which these children have been working on these cocoa farms, he revealed that, children between 5 and 17 are mostly seen involved in this farming activities.
Bright Appiah noted that, although per his outfit’s research, these children who work on these farms mostly work during weekends when there is no school. He revealed that five years ago the situation used to be bad but due to the introduction of some interventions, the situation is better now.
“There is so much improvement that now, they are shifting the focus from school hours and then allowing children to work during weekends.”
Bright Appiah
However, he disclosed that although there has been improvement, some of the children, especially the females work above certain period.
“For a child who is below 14 should not even be allowed to work above three hours.”
Bright Appiah
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