The Executive Director of Challenging Heights, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Dr James Kofi Annan, says government institutions must be well funded to better position to address the menace of child labour across the country.
He said this in an interview with Citi News during the commemoration of this year’s World Day Against Child Labour on Monday.
“Devote about GHS10 million to government institutions to work and be effective,” he stated.
Dr Annan said it was imperative for awareness to be raised on the child labour menace for the necessary support to be mobilised to safeguard children from exploitation.
According to him, raising awareness about child labour is crucial in ensuring that these children have access to education and are able to grow and thrive in a safe environment.
Dr Annan used the opportunity to call for the Child Labour Unit under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to be moved to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) as child labour was more of a psychosocial issue than a labour issue.
“I believe there is a lack of coordination in the fight against child labour. I don’t understand why we have the child labour unit under the Ministry of Labour while we have the Ministry of Gender, this is more of a psychosocial issue than a labour issue,” he stated.