Joseph Miti
26 June 2008
Kampala — Lack of valid statistical data on child labour in Kampala is greatly affecting the fight against the practice in the city, child activists have said.
Addressing Makindye Councillors on forms of child abuse, Platform for Labour Action (PLA) Executive Director Lilian Keene-Mugerwa, said due to absence of data, civil society organisations advocating putting an end to child labour find it difficult to trace the trapped children.
"Despite interventions, the problem of child labour is still prevalent in Kampala and nearest suburbs and cannot be addressed without valid data," Ms Keene-Mugerwa said at a workshop in Kampala on Tuesday.
It is estimated that about 1.76 million children are engaged in child labour in Uganda, of which 1.4 million are below 12 while an estimate of 238,000 (aged 12-13) are working in hazardous forms.
The Kampala Labour Officer, Ms Adriane Namara, admits that the number of working children in the city has grown to worrying levels in the recent past. Ms Namara attributes the increase to the small number of labour officers in Kampala.
"The growth simply lies on under staffing of the labour departments at all local council level and I have continuously reported this problem to those concerned," Ms Namara said. She said people are now taking advantage of inadequate supervision to employ children.
Kampala has only two labour officers and two assistants operating in only three divisions of Central, Rubaga and Nakawa. Kawempe and Makindye divisions have neither offices nor officers. However, Ms Keen-Mugerwa, said the organisation in partnership with Uganda Bureau of Statistics would soon carry out a survey in Makindye to find the out number of children working.
"Results of the survey will help local councils make decisions and find a way to curb any form of child abuse ," Ms Keen-Mugerwa said.
To manage, the PLA has implemented a project to establish a community support mechanism for the protection of child domestic workers from abuse and exploitation.
Ms Keen - Mugerwa said they carried out a minor survey in the division and identify about 330 children in Katwe 1, Kibuye 1 and Makindye 1 at the risk of joining child labour. Fifty seven children were assisted back to schools and some have been unified with their parents, she said.
PLA organised the workshop for councillors to bring them on board since the Local Government Act mandates Local Council at all levels to promote the welfare of the child and fulfil the commitment made by the government through local legislation and international conventions.
Meanwhile, the division Chairman, Mr Moses Kalungi, said the division has been looking for partners to work with in the fight of child abuse. "Though we have the UPE/USE programme, about 30 per cent drop out of school before attaining any qualifications," Mr Kalungi said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
