22 Sep 2015

Batswana have been encouraged to eliminate the exploitation of young children in hard manual labour by 2016.

Officiating during the child protection workshop in Hukuntsi recently, an official from the Hukuntsi Sub district Social and Community Development, Mr Tshepiso Molefhe said that government was concerned by the high rate of child exploitation particularly in commercial farms and house- keeping chores.

He noted such exploitation was turning into a worst form of child labour, as children are denied access to both education and health facilities. He indicated that majority of commercial farms are usually locked, a situation which has made access difficult.

Mr Molefhe raised a concern that farm employees have no access to government services like mobile clinics and education, due to lack of entry to the farms. He however said failure to allow government officers to take such services to the people hinders the government’s efforts to take care of its citizenry.

“The children whose parents are hired as farm labourers are used as workers, a development which is contrary to the labour legislation and the Children’s Act of 2009,” he said.

He said that parents should take it upon themselves that all children under the age of 16 years go to school and are not made bread winners at an infancy stage.

Furthermore, he encouraged parents to register their children at birth to provide the first legal recognition of the child and also to obtain birth certificates for them. He said unregistered children could be denied the enjoyment of collective privileges when they grow up hence the need to register them.

Such privileges, he said include the opportunity to work and inherit family wills, social privileges including marriage, welfare benefits, social security, pension and political privileges such as the right to vote. He noted that registering children at birth also provides the government with the opportunity to plan ahead in terms of provision of services per every citizen. Ends