By Francis H. Murray
The Head of the Child Labour Unit at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Abdul Karim Conteh, has expressed the need for the government to establish special budgetary allocation to the Ministry in order to foster the elimination of the worst forms of child Labour in the country.
He made the call during a consultative meeting with partners on the review of the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, held at the headquarters of the Sierra Leone Labour Congress in Freetown. He said that the absence of special budgetary allocation, periodic child labour surveys and collaboration among social partners were some of the key challenges in addressing the issues of child labour in the country.
Conteh cited the government’s interventions in combating the perennial problems involving child labour, including the ratification of United Nations and International Labour Organization Conventions, and adopting national legislations on child rights. He added that a long time child labour survey indicated that the Northern Province had the highest rate of the worst forms of child labour, followed by the southern province of the country.
Executive Director of Defence for Children, Abdul Manaff Kemokai, also used the occasion to call for effective monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the National Action plan to achieve its objectives.
Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Labour Congress, Max Conteh, noted that the worst forms of Child Labour were prevalent in domestic work, mining, fishing, street trading and begging, which he described as a cause for concern, adding that such worrying concerns required collaborative efforts among social partners.
Acting Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Chible Kamara, urged the participants to play their part in ensuring that the document reflect the safety and health of children in work places and protect them against exploitation.
The participants, who were divided into three working groups, explored the aspects of child labour in the informal economy, social protection and education, among others.
Already, consultative meetings on the review of the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour had been held in the regional headquarters towns of Bo, Kenema and Makeni.
The regional meetings were attended by government officials, UN agencies, civil society organizations, trade union bodies, child protection partners and employing institutions.
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