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31.08.2011 Business & Finance

GAWU calls for activation of farmers' pension scheme

By   Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh - Ghanaian Chronicle
Mr. Kwesi Ahwoi - Minister for Food and AgricultureMr. Kwesi Ahwoi - Minister for Food and Agriculture
31.08.2011 LISTEN

Ghana's quest to succeed in eliminating worst forms of child labour in cocoa has been linked to the activation of an appropriate pension scheme for farmers.

The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) says farmers deserve a good pension scheme and should be factored into any activity to promote child labour free cocoa farms.

Head of Programmes, Training and Education, Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe, raised the concerns in an interview with Luv Fm in Kumasi, where interest groups have been meeting to validate the Ghana Child Labour Monitoring System (GCLMS), a tool to directly oversee activities of children at risk for remediation.

The National Plan of Action has set 2015 as date to eliminate worst forms of child labour.

Mr. Addoquaye Tagoe, who is also the Africa Regional Coordinator of the Global March Against Child Labour, says 'we should not always be credited as being the first to sign the law, we should not always be credited as been the first to develop the law, but this time we should also be credited as also be the first to remove children from work and create decent working conditions for adults'.

He noted the implementation of the Action Plan and adherence to other international conventions rectified by Ghana should place the welfare of farmers at centre stage.

'When you look at those of us in the formal sector employment, we have conditions that allow us to take our children to good schools; we have work place conditions which give certain opportunities to children and the organization looks after them… that should also apply to the farmer who is also a worker that it's his duty to send his child to school and opportunities must be given to the farmer throughout his employment life', Mr. Addoquaye Tagoe told Luv Fm.

According to him, conditions prevailing for all working people must also be available to the farmer, especially an operational pension scheme for the class.

'If government is contributing to our [formal sector] scheme, they're also workers, they pay tax, they actually support the economy with cocoa. So why can't government also support a certain pension scheme also for them', he stated.

Government in 2009 announced the establishment of a pension scheme to cater for the welfare of farmers in their old age. But it has taken a long time to get the scheme up and running.

Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere says the new three-tier pension scheme should encourage the informal sector to save for the future.

Meanwhile the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) says consultants working on its first ever Pension Scheme for cocoa farmers have presented an interim report to the Board.

Monitoring and Evaluation Director, Ebenezer Tei Quartey, is hopeful the over 800 thousand cocoa farmers in the country will be on the pension scheme from early next year. Joyonline

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