Authorities in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo region are raising alarm over the escalating rates of school dropouts linked to illegal mining and cocoa farming in the municipality.

Municipal Chief Executive, Pius Opoku is worried more children are being roped into illegal mining in Adagyamem and Afrisipa to the detriment of their education and health.

His concerns come as out of 13 illegal miners recently arrested, seven of them were under 18, including five WASSCE candidates for the ongoing exams.

Illegal mining continues to lure many children into hazardous work, while some children are also exploited in cocoa farms in the Tano North Municipality.

Afrisipa, Koforidua, Adagyamem, Dwenase, Apesika, Abukrom, as well as Kwabenakrom, are some of the communities noted for worse forms of child labour.

A collaboration between the Regional Security Council and MUSEC saw a raid at the illegal mining sites to get rid of children, but the problem persists.

A section of participants at a International Day Against Child Labour event at Duayaw Nkwanta

Research conducted by Nature Aid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, revealed 33 per cent of children in these areas are involved in hazardous activities such as illegal mining and exploitative labour on cocoa farms, with the majority of them being boys.

Nature Aid Ghana also identified the distance between educational infrastructure and pupils as one of the driving forces for student absenteeism in schools, as many children trek several kilometres to and fro to school.

This means more children are driven from their classrooms in search of economic gains despite the dangers associated with the galamsey menace.

Pius Opoku is MCE, Tano North Municipality

Municipal Chief Executive, Pius Opoku identified lack of support among the public as one of the setbacks in dealing with the menace.

“About five weeks ago we arrested some people doing illegal mining at Afrisipa. But upon getting their updates, we' were having about five of them who were under the age of 17. So, when you come to Tano North Municipality, over here, where the illegal mining is ongoing is at Adagyamem. And the last time that the REC and the MSEC put together uh, went to the place, we realized that the place is becoming so devastated because people are not talking about it. The people from Adayamem, they are not saying anything about what is happening. And by doing so, looking at the statistics, it means they are engaging the children into this illegal act.”

Nonetheless, Mr. Opoku tells JoyNews the Tano North Municipality has zero tolerance for child labour as he commends Nature Aid Ghana for work done in the area.

“I want to put it on record that um, Tano North, we have a zero tolerance of child labor. And as the Municipal Chief Executive, I'll make sure that the Children's Act, it's well enforced.”

Nature Aid Ghana, as part of the International Day Against Child Labour, organised a forum at Duayaw Nkwanta, the capital of the Tano North Municipality, to sensitize the general public to the findings.

Mr. Joseph Baradoe, Executive Director of Nature Aid Ghana speaking at the event

Joseph Baradoe is the executive director of Nature Aid Ghana.

He says child labour has affected retention of pupils in schools.

According to him, Nature Aid Ghana has lined up some interventions, including the distribution of bicycles and uniforms to pupils to alleviate their plight as the assembly promises to put up schools in areas captured in the research.

“Some of them around 12 years are at the galamsey site, digging, looking for gold to go and sell. And just in a few meters, you will see a deep hole dug by an adult. Such children can fall into that pit and die. Who knows if somebody even from somewhere has gone to die and we are not even aware? And it has had effects on children, especially in school. Our visit to schools have indicated that uh, school dropout is now in the increase. Some of them too, those who are also there are also not regularly coming. And so it's something that is affecting the children in those affected communities.

Not only that, those areas are also around forest zones are also much more into child labour because basically they are doing cocoa. And because of the cocoa that they are doing there, um, they are using the children for the cocoa activities.”

Meanwhile, the Ahafo regional development and planning officer commended Nature Aid Ghana for the data provided, adding that the data will be an integral part of the planning scheme of the region.