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Child Labour is defined as the exploitation of children through any form of work which is harmful to their physical, mental, social and moral development (ILO, 2017). Child Labour in Botswana is characterised by the type of forced work at an associated age, as a result of reasons such as poverty, household-resource allocations and culture (Edmonds. E, 2008). The United States Department of Labour states that due to the gaps in the national frameworks, scarce economy, and lack of initiatives, “children in Botswana engage in the worst forms of child labour” of Child Labour (U.S. D.O.L, 2019, Para.1)

= Findings of Child Labour in Botswana = The United States Department of Labour in their Child Labor and Forced Labour Reports, for Botswana, has stated that “Botswana has made minimal advancement towards eliminating child labour in 2018” (U.S. D.O.L, 2019, Para.1). The findings show that the country has not been able to ensure the education of student ts despite the provision of free primary education due to unavailable legislation and enforcement. Secondary education rates are declining due to the tuition costs, as seen through a 35.7% net attendance out of 56.7% enrolled males (UNICEF, 2013). Due to such pressures, children are forcedly integrated in the labour economy.

= Causes = Some causes of child labour in Botswana are traditional factors, changing demographics and poverty.

Traditional
Child labour in Botswana has been transmitted through an African influenced context. Traditional approaches in African communities have seen children excluded from schooling and forced into the workforce. This is seen in an African context to promote the development of life and physical skills contrary to Western methodologies (Loretta E. Bass, 2004). This can be seen through the rural Pare people of Tanzania, Sub-Saharan Africa, involving 5 year old’s to tend crops (Loretta E. Bass, 2004, p.32)

Changing Demographics
Changing demographics are transformations of societal behaviors and characteristics. Changes in demographics, intrahousehold resources and investment has seen children fending for individual and household needs, being excluded from schooling and uptalking “small scale entrepreneurship” (Katz. C, 1996, p.3). The Caldwell theory of wealth (1982), reflects how countries comprised of upward net flow wealth, such through peasant farmers, are inclined for higher rates of reproduction to satisfy for old age care and political status (Bock. J, 2002). Higher reproduction rates greatly influence the investment of parents towards their children and their activities such as schooling (Bock. J, 2002). The impact of changing demographics can be investigated in the Okavango Delta Peoples of Botswana. A 1992 study into five ethnic groups of the community reflect that out of 122 children 20 attended school, of which 15 had to travel 30km or further, resulting in trade-offs to the local economies of herding, milking and graining (Bock. J, 2002)

Poverty
Poverty is the condition where a community or individuals lack the access to basic necessities and financial resources to sustain a minimum standard of living (World Vision, 2019). Botswana accounts for 36.7% of families living under the poverty datum line, which has seen the youth as most vulnerable, being forced to trade-off education for work (Procek.E, 2006). In 2012 the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Peter Siele, visited and talked to a 12 year old out-of-school worker about not attending school. The response recorded was “lehuma ke lone le le ntireleng gore ke tlogele sekolo, ke bolawa ke tlala” (poverty forced me out of school, I suffer from hunger) (Botlhale. E, 2012, p.441). Negative macroeconomic indicators have influenced the inefficiencies of budget allocations towards children-based initiatives (Botlhale. E, 2012). Further, Impoverished communities see poor hygiene, resulting in diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

= Issue in Society = The widespread scale of the issue sees children within the country engaging in the “worst” forms of labour including: commercial sexual exploitation, agriculture and forced domestic work (U.S D.O.S, 2017). The Ministry of Labour and Health accounts for 25000 Children under the age of 15 working on farms. A further 1500 are accounted for domestic work in wealthy households, prone to exploitation and violence (U.S. D.O.L, 2019). Botswana further engages to be a source and destination for commercial trafficking of children, specifically through truck and highway clientele (U.S D.O.S, 2017).

Impacts
The transmission of intergenerational poverty through the degraded economic outlook of the nation, see’s 2 out of 3 children missing secondary school (UNICEF, 2013). The Poverty Map (Moseki, 2009) and UNDP Human development Reports (2009,2010) account for a high cumulative poverty index at 22.9% (Botlhale. E, 2012). Poverty among children can have many negative ramifications, which lead to adverse situations as seen in the 2010 findings from the Botswana Press Agency. The agencies carried out ‘sex-study’ established that girls resort to prostitution out of economic need and “to put food on the table (Botlhale. E, 2012). Communal poverty, has resulted in poor hygiene and health, for example, under 5 youth mortality, has increased by 0.5% (1990-2012) (UNICEF, 2013). Further, the prevalence of the issue has further seen the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Poor preventative measures sees a 15.7% prevalence rate of HIV in 0-18 year old orphans (Procek.E, 2006).

= Dynamics =

Government Outlook
Mechanisms such as The Advisory Committee, entail government agents and NGO representatives to administer child labour issues. Through workshops they advocate for awareness and address issues of concern, however have lacked efficacy due to scarce resources and inability to target rural areas. This has led to the inability to identify the full scope of the issue (U.S. D.O.S, 2017).

Legal Framework
Gaps in the legal system have hindered the enforcement of internationally ratified laws addressing the situation. In attempt to provided safety nets, the ratification of the ILO minimum age standards are enforced, but do not include ‘minimum age of education’ laws (U.S. D.O.S, 2017).

Social Initiatives
Non-governmental organisations work alongside government committees to advocate awareness, however lack resources to eliminate the issue (U.S. D.O.L, 2019). For example, the government funded ‘Orphan Care Program’ subsidises school fees and provides meals to children to promote educational participation.

= Recommendations =

To eliminate the extent and scope of Child Labour in Botswana, the national framework can adopt preventative measures and review policies. Through amendment to the Employment Act, the gap between bodies and enforcement agencies will be reduced, which will cater towards eliminating the issue (U.S. D.O.L, 2019). Budget allocations towards children and socially based initiatives are a critical argument to improve upon the negative macroeconomic indicators (Botlhale. E, 2012). Further, more studies are required to enable full engagement in stronger safety nets to counter root causes such as poverty, prostitution and gaps in governmental frameworks (Anwar et.al, 2008).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour_in_Botswana