Community volunteers urge government, cocoa/mining companies to demonstrate more commitment towards elimination of forced and child labour

In the first of a series of joint quarterly district dialogues held in Asankragua, in the Wassa Amenfi West district, the district assembly, representatives from other government agencies, cocoa companies, gold mining association and community representatives came together to discuss various commitments made that would support the elimination of forced and child labour in the local communities.

While progress has been made in recent years towards the eradication of child labour especially, the impact of COVID-19 which saw schools shut down around the globe has exacerbated the situation putting an additional 9 million children at risk of child labour globally.

Ghana and Côte D’Ivoire account for over 60% of global cocoa production. While this significantly boosts the country’s economy, it has also brought serious challenges, including a rise in forced labour and child labour due to several factors including the above.

The government of Ghana and cocoa companies have made a lot of effort in interventions towards eradicating child and forced labour. Nonetheless, the menace still persists and is a cause of concern to both producing and consuming countries. It is because of this concern that the Norwegian government with funding through NORAD is working with Rainforest Alliance together with communities through its local partners, the Center for Social Impact Studies and New Generation Concern, to curb the menace.

In a plenary after group discussions, community representatives presented their concerns about interventions being implemented at the community level by government and cocoa companies/gold associations to eradicate child labour in the last four months. They also advocated for inclusion in discussions that leads to choice of interventions by companies and government that will best meet their needs and make an impact.

The Wassa Amenfi Municipal Assembly, as part of its commitment to eliminating child labour and the worst form of child labour indicated that they will support community self-help initiatives in mining and cocoa communities to eradicate child labour. To this end, the Municipality is urging local communities to submit to the District Assembly such initiatives for validation and support.

A Development Planning Officer of the Assembly, Mr. Cyril Ankomah, made this known at a dialogue on child and forced labour by the RainForest Alliance and their local partners in Asankragua. According to the Assembly, reporting child labour cases is free, and called on people to support the Municipality in dealing with the menace.

Representative from CHRAJ, Social Welfare and NCCE present also mentioned what they have been doing so far and pledged their continuous support to collaborate with other stakeholders in raising awareness.

The Sustainability Officer of Touton Ghana Cocoa Buying Company, Mr. Manasseh Ameworlor, who spoke on behalf of cocoa companies at the meeting, reiterated their total commitment towards eliminating child labour in their operational areas. He said the companies would continue to support schools with furniture, reading materials, and playgrounds and form climate-smart groups. He urged RainForest Alliance and their local partners to organize regular dialogues since it keeps everyone in check regarding child and forced labour.

A consultant on the project, Mrs. Elizabeth Adubofour, encouraged the stakeholders to work assiduously towards preventing, identifying and addressing forced and child labour whiles she encouraged the community members to be diligent in their work and contribute their quota towards this shared responsibility as they have roles to play in its eradication.

The Senior Project Manager (Forced and Child Labour), RainForest Alliance, Mrs. Joyce Poku-Marboah drew attention to the fact that there is difference between child work and child labour and not every work a child gets involved in is child labour. She also called on government, cocoa and goldmining companies to fulfill their commitments and be more proactive by committing to their own plans, strategies and activities designed to eliminate child and forced labour.

She said the district dialogue was premised on the grounds that child labour was a shared responsibility that required the involvement of all stakeholders to work to eliminate the practice from the sector. “ We Need to Collaborate. Together We Can!”

Present at the district dialogue were representatives from the district assembly (representing government), cocoa companies and goldmining associations, religious leaders, social welfare and community development, NCCE, CHRAJ and community volunteers and opinion leaders.