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from service and are marginalised and neglected by society and the state.148 This statement will possibly give hope to children exploited by child labour.
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(a) is an integral part of a course of education or training for which the school or training institution is primarily responsible; and
(b) does not prejudice such child‟s education, health, safety, social or mental development.150
From the above laws it is obvious that the country assumes child labour is only the employment of children. By this I mean work done by children in their households as they engage in farming and domestic work is not taken as child labour. But when one makes an analysis child labour is also found in households.
Similarly the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] as amended at the 30th of December, 2005 on (Part 1V) on General Conditions of Employment like the Statutory Instrument 72 of 1977 explains that “any contract of employment...and contract of apprenticeship with an apprentice between the ages of thirteen and fifteen which was entered into without the apprentice‟s guardian, shall be void...”151 One may assume that as long as the guardians of a thirteen or fifteen year old agree that their child can work then the employer has the right to give them long hours of work per day. Such clauses, as long as they do not specify or refer to the maximum hours a child shall work, put children at risk of exploitation through child labour in the current Zimbabwean socio-economic situation.
The country‟s laws also assert that child labour crimes are punishable by a fine, imprisonment of two years or both.152 According to child labour laws in Zimbabwe, children are forbidden from being involved in hazardous labour. Hazardous labour is defined as any work likely to interfere with the education of children; exposing children to hazardous substances; that involves underground mining; requires the use of electronically powered hand tools, cutting, or grinding blades, exposing children to extreme conditions; or which occur during a night shift.153
150 Statutory Instrument 72 of 1997, p 277.
151 The Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] as amended at the 30th of December, 2005. (Zimbabwe), p 14.
152 U.S. Department of State, “Country Reports-2006: Zimbabwe,” Section 6d. See also Embassy-Harare, reporting, March 7, 2007, Investigation and prosecution of Traffickers para C. See also The Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] as amended at the 30th of December, 2005 (Zimbabwe) p 14.
153 ILO NATLEX National Labour Law Database, children’s protection and Adoption Amendment Act, 2001 (No.23) June 4, 2003< http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex_browse.home accessed 20 June 2008.
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Moreover, forced labour is prohibited in Zimbabwe; there is a penalty of two years imprisonment, a fine, or both, for forced labour violations.154 However, such incidences are always hidden. Millions of children in Zimbabwe are engaged in forced labour everyday, but few or none of the incidences are reported. The Ministry of Labour‟s Department of Social Welfare is responsible for the enforcement of child labour laws;
however, it cannot conduct inspections or monitoring because of lack of personnel.155 The lack of personnel to monitor the abuse of children is perpetuating the status quo.
With millions of children vending in the streets, some working as domestic workers while others are in different forms of forced labour, one may wonder if there are laws meant to protect children in Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe has no specific laws that prohibit trafficking in humans, thus the US Department of State, Country reports, explains that,
In Zimbabwe no law specifically prohibits trafficking in persons.
However, the law does prohibit various types of sexual exploitation, including the transportation of individuals across the border for sexual purposes and procuring individuals for prostitution either inside Zimbabwe or internationally. The law provides penalties of a fine and up to 2 years of imprisonment for those convicted of procuring individuals for prostitution, and it provides a stronger penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment in cases involving the procurement of children under 10.156
For this reason, with the current socio-economic and political situation in Zimbabwe, children are not protected from trafficking to the country‟s neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana. Many children who drop out of school everyday consider migrating to South Africa as their first option to find some work and take care of their siblings. These children either jump the border or they are helped by omalayitsha157to get
154 Government of Zimbabwe, Constitution of Zimbabwe, Chapter 3, Article 14;
<http://www.parlzim.gov.zw/Resources/Constitution/constitution.html. See also U.S. Department of State,
“Country Reports-2006: Zimbabwe,” Sections 5 and 6c.
155 Coalition to Stop the use of Child Soldiers, “Zimbabwe” in Child soldiers Global Report 2004 London<
http://www.child-soldiers.org/document_get.php?id=779 accessed 18 April 2008.
at156 U.S. Department of State, “ Trafficking in Person Report-2006: Zimbabwe” U.S. Department of State,
“Country Reports-2006: Zimbabwe,” Section 6d Section 5.
157 Omalayitsha is the cross border transport that usually illegally helps people who do not have passports and visas to cross the border from Zimbabwe to South Africa. They also carry groceries from Zimbabweans who work in South Africa to their families in Zimbabwe.
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into South Africa and seek for work either as domestic workers or farm workers. There is no law so far that prohibits this illegal trafficking of children.
3.4. The United Nations Convention on Children and the Zimbabwean Children