Many children in Accra still engage in economic activities meant for older persons despite strict laws to protect children in Ghana against hazardous labour.

The Makola Market is one of Accra’s biggest business hubs where child labour is rampant. The market is always a busy place.

The stores here are congested with all kinds of wares – shoes, clothes, electronics, cooking utensils and many more.

You cannot make your way through the crowd, without rubbing your body against that of another person.

Yet in the midst of this crowd made up of mostly adults, this 11 year old girl struggles to make a living. To protect her identity, we will call her Suraiya.

She is lanky, fair in complexion and  looked dirty. Suraiya carries a big brown plastic bowl on her head. Inside the bowl are small transparent plastic bottles, containing a brown locally-made beverage called ‘sobolobo’.

She walks around the market with these items, calling for customers to buy. Sometimes, she walks the whole day, eating very little, just to make 5 Ghana Cedis which she takes home to her guardians.   

Violation of Suraiya’s Basic Rights 

Suraiya said her uncle whom she lives with, brought her to Accra from the Northern Region with the intention of helping her travel to Saudi Arabia to work. But she was told that she was too young to travel. “My uncle then decided that I stay here in Accra to do this business”, she said. Suraiya does not go to school.

The constitution of Ghana sets the minimum employment age at 15 years, or 13 years for light work that cannot harm the child or affect his or her education. The law is also against making children work at night and provides for fines and imprisonment for violators. It is clear therefore, that Suraiya’s fundamental human rights are being violated by her guardians.

Amnesty International Says Government Must Act

Project coordinator for Human Rights organization, Amnesty International, Frank Doyi says government is not doing enough to enforce laws against child labour in Ghana.

He said “government has a responsibility to ensure that all children of school-going age are in school and remain in school. Implementation of the law is what the problem is”.he added. “We must hold government accountable”.

So what effort is government making to ensure that the rights of children like Suraiya are protected at all times? Deputy Minister for Gender and Social Protection, Alexander Ackon explains that there is a Social Protection Policy which ensures that monitoring committees are in place in every community.

These committees include the chiefs and other traditional heads who are tasked to handle any issues of child labor “before they get out of hand”.

He said most of the time, parents aware of what their children are going through but look on unconcerned.

In these circumstances, he said; “the best thing to do is to take the child away from the parents because if you take it as a criminal offence, it also has its own problem”.

Mr. Ackon indicated that his ministry only treats child labour cases as criminal offences “as a last resort”.

Uncertain Future for Suraiya

For 11 year old Suraiya, the long arm of the law has not been stretched far enough to protect her right to Free, Compulsory, Universal, and Basic Education.

For now, she will continue to hawk in the streets of Accra, uncertain of her future.