By ANN ZULU
ON the Great East Road in Lusaka, men and women yell as they make quick deals and sell various goods.
However, among these sellers are children between the age of 7-15, selling various items among them sachet water, fruits, soft drinks, and other consumables.
This is the scenario of hundreds of children who have been denied access to primary and secondary education in various townships of Lusaka.
Bertha Phiri, was seen crying by the road side on Kanyama’s Los Angeles Road when I moved close to her to ask why.
The 10-year-old girl said she misplaced K20 she made from the bananas she was hawking for her mother.
“I have just misplaced K20, the money made from the sales of fruits and my mum will beat me for carelessness when I get home. Please, will you help me, the innocent girl speaking in Nyanja asked me.
I assured Bertha that I will follow her home to plead with her mother, but she protested saying: “that will not stop me from being beaten, if not today, my beating will be doubled for the sin when you are gone.”
I then assured her that I will make the payment as we both trekked back home.
I asked Bertha why she was not in school.
“I have stopped going to school since I finished my primary education, my mum and dad fought, so we packed out of the house and left my dad. Since then, I hawk and my mother also hawks. The little we made is what we use to feed ourselves including with my two siblings, and pay house rent,” she explains.
Mary Mwamba, a resident of George Compound owns a food canteen in Lusaka’s heavy industrial area.
She has just instructed her daughter, Mwape, between the age of 13 and 15 to help fetch enough water before going to her place of work.
I however requested to know the job the little girl does.
“She wrote her Grade 7 exams last year and failed, since then I have put her at a place where she’s learning how to plait hair. She will make money from there and vend for herself. You know one must be serious and face reality.
“She failed her exams and she’s not very good with school, so it’s better she stops. After all, she’s a girl its better she starts doing something and when she finds a man she wants to marry, she will continue her life and be independent,” she said.
At Chawama market, I observed that most of these kids work as maids in food canteens and recharge card stores.
KondwaniNdhlovu 17, narrates why he prefers selling recharge cards to any other business.
“Although, the gain in selling recharge cards is not really much, but it is not a dirty job and that’s why I chose the job,” he said as I asked him about his parents.
“They are both alive, my dad is a cobbler and my mother sells fritters. They told me they can’t send me to university and truly I understand that things are not really rosy for the family. I believe I will go to school, graduate and help my family,” he said
The case of Kondwani, is similar to that of Abigail, a 15-year-old girl of John Laing Compound who said upon getting married, she will decide if education is right for her or not.
“I hope I will get a husband to sponsor me. Although, I am doing my best now but I have to feed myself before thinking about schooling,” she said.
I also visited Intercity Bus Terminus and Kamwala Trading Centre around lunch time to observe how children mostly from Misisi, John Laing, Kanyama and other nearby compounds were running after vehicles chanting “Manzi (water), biscuit, bananas among other staff.
Most of the kids could not talk to me as they showed determination pursuing vehicles and could not want any conversation to deny them the gains of the day.
At Intercity Bus Terminus, they were mostly hawking satchet water, cold drinks and fruits.
In Linda compound, 14-year-old Edwin Mwamba helps his parents work at a farm in Makeni and is not in school.
He said his parents told him that school was not all that important and that he needed to work as a man.
“My parents told me that I was a big boy now, so I needed to learn how to do this work, so that I can take care of myself in future, he said.
Who is to blame?
Children Rights activist Mercy Hakalima shoulders blame on society.
“When education is being discussed, the rational thought that should come along is that it is the best and most effective way to develop a society. Besides, education serves as a tool that liberates the mind. So, a society that is genuinely interested in development should consider education an important factor.
“Hence, the only way that citizens’ education can be ensured is when it is managed by the public through its resources because it is a social responsibility not an individual responsibility. Therefore the blame for child workers in Lusaka and the country at large should be placed at the doorsteps of Government.
“The knowledge gained from education when put into practical application does not only benefit the educated individual but the general society,” she said.
What the Zambian Law says on Child labour
The Employment of Young Persons and Children Act, Cap 274, describes a “child” as a person under the age of 15.
According to provisions of the Act, a child shall not be employed in any type of employment or work, which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out constitutes a worst form of labour.
It states that any person who contravenes this, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not less than two hundred thousand penalty units but not exceeding one million penalty units, or to imprisonment for a term not less than five years but not exceeding twenty-five years, or to both.
State’s Reaction
Assistant Labour Commissioner in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security MukamasoleKasanda said the ministry was aware of the increased child hawking in Zambia, especially in the capital city.
She said the ministry has since scaled up its efforts in eradicating the vice and all forms of child labour in Zambia.
She said the ministry had been tirelessly working with line ministries and other stakeholders to ensure that matters of child labour were given attention and dealt with.
“Over the years child labour has been on the increase, especially in sectors such as agriculture, mining, and also nowadays there is also this hawking business where children are all over the streets selling things.
“The fight against Child Labour is a huge task, which requires collective efforts. So are working with other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Gender, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Public Prosecution Authority, local authorities, the community, tradition leaders and the clergy among other.
“We also have community district child labour committees in about 23 districts, these made up of different ministries and institutions that helps us with sensitisation. We noted that there is a lot of ignorance on child labour, so through these committees people are sensitised,” Ms Kasanda said.
She also expressed confidence that child labour would be a thing of the past by 2023, because of various programmes that were been implemented towards ending it.
“We see a situation in the near future, where we are going to reduce on the recent incidents of child labour and because of the efforts that are been made, we are hoping that come hopefully by 2023, we might not see any child on the streets or involved in child labour,” she said.
And Community Development and Social Development Minister Olipah Phiri said Government through her ministry and other line ministries was implementing various social programmes aimed at keeping children in school.
Ms Phiri mentioned the Social Cash Transfer Scheme and the Girl’s Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood (GEWEL) project as some of the programmes being implemented.
“GEWEL aims at enhancing social protection programmes that are specifically targeted to empower poor and vulnerable girls and women in the country. The project has three components; Keeping Girls in School initiative Supporting Women’s Livelihood and Institutional Strengthening and Systems building.
“As for the Social Cash Transfer Scheme, this is a social welfare system of identifying the most vulnerable and poor households in communities. Through this scheme, Government supports economically disadvantaged girls through bursaries to keep them in school,” Ms Phiri said.
However, in 2018, the Zambia National Education Coalition revealed that over 800, 000 children were out of school across the country.
And recent statistics indicate that 600, 000 children are employed in various sectors across the country, with 58 percent of them below the age of 14 years.
Child labour can be an obstacle to education, while education is also instrumental in the prevention of child labour.
It is through intensified sensitisation campaigns that this scourge can be halted.
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