Minister of labour Vera Kamtukule has told Southern African Developing Community (SADC) employment and labour ministers that her ministry is committed to fighting tooth and nail in making sure that cases of child labour are reduced by all means in the country.
Speaking during SADC ministers of Employment and Labour and Social partners meeting that took place from 29th to 30th March at Bingu International Convertion Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, Kamtukule said it is sad that some companies including various estates are capitalizing on child labour a situation that has led
led to many children dropping out of schools.
Kamtukule added that child labour has not only affected Malawi but it is also a case in many different corners of the african region and has affected the well being of many children both mentally and psychologically.
She said the participants have agreed to formulate deliberate measures in their respective countries in order to deal with the malpractice.
According to Kamtukule , about 9,200,000 children are involved in child’s labour in the african region and it is something that requires an urgent action.
“There are alot of children that are in child labour and the social economical effects attached to that are very enormous and we need to do whatever we can as governments to eliminate all forms of child labour.
“There are various drivers of child labour such as poverty,armed conflict, inadequate laws and regulations, social inequality and discrimination among others and these require our attention,” she said.
Among others, the ministers also discussed the need to create a conducive environment for people who travel from one country to another within the region to search for employment opportunities.
Under the theme ” Bolstering productive capacities in the the face of Covid-19 pandemic for inclusive,sustainable, economic and industrial transformation ” the meeting attracted various employment and labour ministers from Namibia, Botswana, Eswathini , Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
Other participants were from International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and SADC Secretariat.
