Mills reaffirms government determination to fight child labour

Accra, June12, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills at the weekend, re-affirmed the commitment of his Administration to strengthen the institutional framework and continue with interventions designed to fight child labour.

He noted that child labour is a global canker that seeks to undermine the present and future progress of the country and stressed that the menace could be combated through policy planning and implementation.

President Mills gave the commitment in a speech read on his behalf in Accra at a Forum to mark this year's World Day against Child Labour. The day, which was instituted by the UN and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2002 to draw attention to the need for increased global efforts towards the elimination of child labour, especially its worst form was on the theme: "Ghana Go for The Goal: End Child Labour." President Mills observed: "It cannot be disputed that Africa has more than a fair share of the world's child labourers. The latest ILO Global Report shows that while Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean continue to reduce child labour, sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed an increase both in relative and absolute terms.

"This region also has the highest incidence of children working, with one-in-four children engaged in child labour."

President Mills said in the spirit of enhancing democratic development and constitutional rule, government would continue to pursue a national development agenda that prioritizes the realization of citizens' rights and entitlements.

He said government was ready to implement the National Plan of Action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Ghana, which was designed as a framework to integrate child labour interventions, tailored to deal with it in a holistic manner from 2009- 2015.

Professor John S. Nabila, Wulugu Naaba, and President of the National House of Chiefs, said every child has the right to be protected from work that endangers his or her health, education and development. He said child labour was a very serious canker that hindered development in most rural communities in Ghana since it deprived most victims the right to education.

Prof. Nabila said employment of children was considered exploitative by many national and international organisations. He said although the practice is illegal in many countries, it is still prevalent in Ghana.

Prof. Nabila observed that the 1992 Constitution, the children's Act of 1998 and the Labour Act of 2003 addressed child labour in details and ban all exploitative activities that were inimical and hazardous to children. He called on parents, traditional leaders and the Ministries, Departments and Agencies charged with the responsibility of ensuring the implementation of all the laws on child labour to call for the abolition of such inhuman acts.

Mr Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere, Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare said child labour issues were national priorities and needs to be mainstreamed in sector oriented activities. He said if the action plan to check the practice would achieve the desired impact then it must be adopted and given the needed attention by Cabinet and other stakeholders. 12 June 10