Africa-Press – South-Sudan. JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN (Eye Radio) – The Central Equatoria State Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare is calling for an end to child labor and urging the national government to regulate the influx of children from other states into Juba.
The call comes amidst growing concerns over the increasing number of street children and minors engaged in various forms of labor within the capital.
Sebit Patrick, the Deputy Director of Social Welfare for Central Equatoria State, emphasized that children are the future of the nation and should be in school, not at work.
“My message to the community is that let’s look after our children because they are the future of this country. They will have a brighter future if they go to school,” Patrick told Eye Radio.
“We should not give them labor work, or send them to work to generate money for us as parents; we should end child labor.”
While the ministry has not conducted a formal survey to determine the exact number of children involved, Patrick noted a visible increase in children working in businesses, selling water, acting as taxi conductors, washing cars, and polishing shoes.
Patrick urged the national government to implement stricter measures to control the movement of children into Juba.
He suggested that proper checks should be established on roads leading to the capital to question and verify the reasons for children’s travel.
“I also urge the national government… to address this issue of children being brought from states to the capital, Juba, and abandoned,” he said.
“They end up becoming street children or doing labor here. There should be restrictions along the roads leading to Juba.”
Patrick believes that many of the children involved in labor and crime are from other states.
The South Sudan Child Act of 2008 protects every child from economic exploitation and child labor.
The act stipulates that the minimum age for a child to be engaged in “light work” is 12 years, provided it is not harmful to their health or development and does not interfere with their school attendance.
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