About 37 island communities in the Krachi-West Municipality of the Oti Region have been schooled on the need to end child labour and human trafficking in the communities along the Southern Volta Lake.
It was organised by the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) in collaboration with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Ghana Police Service Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Department of Social Welfare.
The Head of the Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Person Unit (AHSTPU) of the GIS, Superintendent Alberta Ankrah, addressing participants at the end of the workshop, noted that child labour and human smuggling activities were mostly carried out in island communities, hence the decision to educate the people about the need to end the practice.
Mrs Ankrah said the education campaign was contributing significantly in eradicating child labour and human trafficking activities where the practices were mostly found.
According to her, the GIS was one of the agencies mandated to combat child labour and trafficking, saying the GIS in collaboration with the state agencies depended largely on partnership, prevention, prosecution, and protection in handling child labour and trafficking in the country.
Mrs Ankrah said in most of the cases of child labour and trafficking, the children were either sold to the perpetrators to engage them in fishing activities on the Volta Lake, or parents of such children gave them out in exchange for properties.
She also observed that the perpetrators upon arrival at their destinations would deny the children access to education and health any time they fell sick.
Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Mike Baah, who led the police team, said education on child labour and trafficking was important to create the needed awareness for people to be conversant with Human Trafficking Act 694 2005, which clearly prohibited child labour and trafficking in the country.
Mr Baah said that it was through education that people would be aware of the illegality of child labour and trafficking, which would enable them to become law abiding citizens, and to bring the issues of child labour and trafficking to an end.
The Leader of the GAWU team, Mrs Emilia Ghansah, said the objective of GAWU was to protect decent work, but unfortunately found out that there were indecent activities being carried out along communities of the Volta Lake, particularly child labour and trafficking, which necessitated the joint educational programme by the state agencies in the island communities.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, AGORTIGORME
