22 Mar 2023

Botswana Police Service, Department of Labour and Humana People-to-People have rescued 19 children from exploitation and child labour in game farms and cattle posts in Tsabong District since February 2022.

Speaking in an interview this week after rescuing more children from farms in Werda and Bray recently, Humana People-to-People child labour project manager in Tsabong, Ms Matshediso Keabetswe said they had rescued 19 children from farms in a joint operation with the police and labour officials. She said 16 of them were child labourers while two were categorised as vulnerable children. She noted that the vulnerable children were staying in a farm but not engaged in any employment and that two girls were staying with partners who were much older than them.

She said the children were assessed by a social worker and referred to a government department to access social services. She added that some of the children were referred to the police while seven were taken back to school.

Ms Keabetswe described child labour as any form of work that deprived children of their childhood and interfered with their ability to attend school. She added that any work that was mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful to children was also classified as child labour.

Ms Keabetswe said her organisation has a footprint in 45 countries, including Botswana, and that they had officers in all districts. 

She added that in Kgalagadi South they started in February 2022 and were aiming at uprooting child labour. "We have collected children from game farms, cattle ranches and cattle posts in Tsabong, Khawa, Werda and Bray,” she said.

She said some of the children refused to go to school adding that others left school at Standard four to work in the farms. She also said they had engaged out of school education and training organisations to give the children vocational skills to enable them to earn a decent living.

Ms Keabetswe also said they were the custodians of the Children’s Act which stated that children under the age of 18 should not be forced into child labour, adding that some game farm and cattle ranch owners contravened the act and denied the children the right to education. 

She said some of the children were breadwinners while others were neglected by their parents. “One of the children worked at a farm where his father worked, and when his father died, he took over his position,” she said.

Tsabong District labour officer, Mr Ketlhophegile Moikabi confirmed that the operation was led by Humana People-to-People and that they unearthed labour malpractices in some of the farms. He also confirmed that some of the children were employed and that others came with their parents. He said the children worked under poor conditions and lived in makeshift accommodation. He added that they had no protective clothing, no compensation in case of injury and that some of them lost fingers and there was no compensation. They also have no off days, no rest days and no leave days.

The district labour officer also noted that some of the farmers locked their gates and that health workers and labour officers found it difficult to enter the farms. ends