With the use of the Ghana Child Labour Monitoring System, CRI has undertaken two surveys in its operating areas to help identify the children at risk of child labour. The survey areas are Asunafo South, Ahafo-Ano North, Ahafo-Ano South, Atwima Mponua, Asutifi North, Asutifi South, and Bibiani districts. The study was meant to systematically collect, analyze, and report on child labour/protection issues in the communities as well as within the supply chain. The first survey was done in selected communities under 3 districts and the second in 5 districts (with respect to a specific farmer group). In carrying this out, two tools; tool 1 and tool 2 of the GCLMS were adopted in realising this objective. Tool 1 was used in creating a community register, which included information on the names of household heads, and their members, date of birth, age, and occupation of every member of each household. In addition, is information as to whether children are in school or not and the type of work children in these households engage in. The use of this tool was to obtain information on all children in the community and to enable the tracking of activities and movements of children in the community. The community register/tool 1 was to ensure that the application of Tool 2 leads to the classification of children at risk in the selected communities.

In the first three districts which included Asunafo South, Ahafo-Ano North, and Atwima Mponua, data was collected from 3,971 households with a total of 10,939 members out of which 5,449 were males and 5490 were females.  Out of the total members in the 3,971 households, 5,082 children were identified of which 2,816 are males and 2,266 are females. Out of 1,972 children between the ages of 5 to 17 interviewed, 117 were found in child labour and 112 are involved in hazardous work.

The second survey which was done with respect to the households of a particular farmer group was carried out in Ahafo-Ano North, Ahafo-Ano South, Asutifi North, Asutifi South, and Bebiani districts. Out of the selected communities under these districts, 806 farmer group households were interviewed. In all, 4,455 members were found in the 806 households out of which 2181 were male and 2,274 were female. A total of 1,547 children were identified in these households. Out of the 987 children between the ages of 5 to 17 interviewed, 765 are involved in child labour and 742 are involved in hazardous work.

These types of work children between the ages of 5 to 17 are involved in all the above districts include ‘galamsey’, cocoa farming, domestic servitude, street hawking/begging, cattle herding, fishing, and carting of heavy loads/head pottering.

Per ILO Recommendation 190, work that possibly falls under the definition of Hazardous Child Labour is: work which exposes children to physical, psychological, or sexual abuse; work underground, under water, at dangerous heights, or in confined spaces; work with dangerous machinery, equipment, and tools, or which involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads; work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their health; work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or during the night or work where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the employer.

In the past weeks, the government has been working intensively to bring ‘galamsey’ to a halt, which we believe is a good cause and we urge the government to fight this cause to the end. However, in doing so we have to give attention to Social and Child Protection issues in the mining areas. The study carried out by Child Rights International showed that children are also involved in ‘galamsey’ which is a threat not only to their lives but to the country as well since we stand the risk of losing great leaders and increase in children’s vulnerability to diseases due to the pollution of the environment. In each of the households visited in the mining areas, there is a family member who is engaged in illegal mining, 30 children were identified working constantly in ‘galamsey’, and other children provide one service or the other with over 2,092 children at high risk of child labour which include ‘galamsey’ in the 8 districts.

In carrying out measures to halt ‘galamsey’ we believe that government must also look at the social protection implication on the people involved including children and put measures in place to draw the affected into our social safety net.

We propose that government takes the appropriate steps to investigate the condition of children and households in the family in order to support their welfare if so affected. At the end of the investigation family and children identified must be put under maintenance and rehabilitation programs for effective integration into society.  The identification of such children can enable the government to withdraw them and develop remediation plans for the families.

In so doing, informal and formal community structures that play a role in child protection such as the traditional system, Child Protection Committees, School Management Committees, Social Welfare, DOVVSU among many must have their capacity built in ensuring that these children live in a safe environment free of anything that infringes on their rights.

We are calling on the government to make social protection programs known in the handling and the stoppage of galamsey activities in the country.

We urge all Ghanaians to support the government in eradicating this menace and creating an environment worthy of living for all.