Children and Youth in the Labour Process in Africa

12. Conclusion

12 Conclusion Osita Agbu The contents of this volume on children and youth in the labour process in Africa clearly indicate that though children have engaged in work activities in Africa within their communities for centuries, the mode, nature and scope of this engagement in the twenty-first century has become of great concern to many, including governments and civil society. Though the centrality of labour in life cannot be overstated and one participates in his or her society through work, the current trend in which children and youth are exploited in the labour process in Africa gives great cause for concern. The experiences from Tanzania, Kenya, Congo DRC, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and other countries in Africa paint a picture of the fact that children are under pressure to work and not living out their role as children. Many children in Africa are increasingly engaged in hazardous or what the ILO defines as Worst Forms of Child Labour, and this situation could get worse unless the economic conditions and social arrangements encouraging this situation are comprehensively addressed. Worse still is the type of future that awaits children and youth! Right from the beginning of this compendium, the authors have tried to present and expose the various facets and dimensions of child labour in Africa, especially in the present century. There is very little doubt that the nature and character of the current phase of globalization has worsened rather than constrained the transmutation from child work to child labour. The complexity of today’s world, including the advancement in communications technology and travel time, means that the rate at which nefarious individuals and cartels that indulge in child labour, for instance, operate, is much widened and deepened. The present triumph of capitalism as a mode of production and the strangulation of communalism and social welfarism as organizing concepts of the collective good have served to jeopardize the situation of children and youth in Africa. Against this background, we need to re-examine the kind of education and schooling that we have today in Africa. Is it better than what we had before in terms of the collective betterment of our societies? Are we being 226 Children and Youth in the Labour Process in Africa educated to serve our societies or to serve globalization and capitalism? How does this development impact on the lives of children? Based on the experiences and lessons from the trafficking of children, and their utilization as cheap sources of labour, several interventions have been proposed, and many are presently under implementation. For instance, there are efforts to stop the trafficking of children both within and across countries, and to improve access to basic services for children and youth, including access to health, nutrition, education and income-generating activities. These are being pursued through advocacy, partnerships with NGOs, sensitization of the public, capacity-building initiatives for field officers involved in helping these children, as well as the review of data and information about child labour, of which this book could be a good source. In many of the cases of child exploitation in the labour process examined here, the most practical recommendation, at least in the long run, is the necessity for a strategy that will economically address the structural basis that creates the environment for child exploitation in relation to labour. This is as against recommendations that proffer legislative measures alone, and fall short in examining the underlying factors that have contributed to the problem. Beginning from the 1990s, child trafficking, for instance, was virtually treated as a new phenomenon with various legislative measures enacted. However, it was not long before it was realized that legislative measures alone, and even addressing poverty at its face value, were not enough to tackle the menace of child trafficking. Indeed, it was also realized that the causes of child labour are more complex than just poverty. While it is important to understand the economic structure and the political economy of a particular society in seeking solutions, with emphasis on production relations one should also not overlook the socio-cultural and psychological factors, some of which have proven to be obstacles to addressing the problem. A major observation from the studies encapsulated in this book is that governments in Africa are yet to pay the kind of attention that is required in addressing the problem of child labour. These governments are yet to address the contemporary issues and conditions that affect the welfare of children and the youth. The problem...