The Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations Against Child Trafficking (CNACT) has said political interference has been a major reason for delayed prosecution of child traffickers and slaveholders in the country.

The Executive Director of International Needs, Cromwell Awadey, speaking on behalf of the group stated that interference by people who wield influence has become a major hindrance to efforts by the Coalition and law enforcement agencies.  

The concern comes on the heels of a five-year jail term handed to two persons in the Eastern Region for engaging in the hazardous use of children on Lake Volta.

In an interview with Joy News’ Maxwell Agbagba, Mr Awadey said, “those of us working in this space worked hard to rescue some of these children. But when we rescue them, the next stage is prosecution and we face the biggest challenge there.”

“We do get interference from political figures and all kinds of people and the whole case becomes a foolish case. As a result, we still have impunity still thriving among traffickers and slaveholders,” he spoke on behalf of CNACT.

Mr Awadey also noted that due to the cumbersome process of prosecuting culprits of child trafficking in the country, CNACT has not been able to achieve substantial results.

“We do have delays in prosecution in our courts but in other cases, we’ve secure some prosecution but when you compare that against the number of cases that are reported, it’s just too small,” he lamented.

The Coalition which is made up of 24 local and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) works together to support national efforts at ending child trafficking in Ghana.