VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDR #1601/01 3531100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191100Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7165

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 001601 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID TZ
SUBJECT: 2007 TANZANIA REPORT ON THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
 
 
¶1. (U) The Government of Tanzania (GOT) passed a National Strategy 
and two new labor laws criminalizing child labor in 2004 and 
awareness of the issue continues to increase across the country as 
the Tanzanian government continues to partner with non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) on projects to reduce child labor through 
activities such as the Timebound Program (TBP).  However, child 
labor remains a problem in Tanzania, compounded by a weak 
educational system, rural-urban migration, and the scourge of 
HIV/AIDS.  While attempting to cope with child labor directly 
through legislation and education, the GOT has also made reducing 
poverty the number one priority on its national agenda.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor: 
-------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) According to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics 
(NBS), an estimated 35.4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 were 
working in 2000-2001.  New data on child labor was collected in 
2005/06, but the NBS has yet to publish an updated Integrated Labor 
Force Survey Report since the 2001 report.  Post is in contact with 
the International Labor Organization (ILO)and the GOT Ministry of 
Labor and will report on the most recent figures from the NBS report 
as soon as possible. 
 
¶3. (U) Agriculture remains the largest sector of Tanzania's economy 
and children continue to work on tea, coffee, sugar cane, sisal, 
cloves, and tobacco farms, and in the production of wheat, corn, 
green algae, pyrethrum and rubber.  On Zanzibar, children work 
primarily in the market place, in fishing, and in some hotels. 
Incidences of child labor in Tanzania occur primarily in the 
informal sector of the economy, which accounts for over 50 percent 
of the economy according to the World Bank. The Ministry of Labor, 
Employment and Youth Development, stressed the growing orphan 
population from the scourge of HIV/AIDS as an important cause of 
child labor, since orphans are often vulnerable to involvement in 
exploitative labor. 
 
¶4. (U) A U.S. based NGO working in Tanzania, Winrock International, 
has observed a growing level of awareness across the country about 
the criminal nature of child labor.  Winrock has noted that 
large-scale farms rarely use child labor any longer as employers 
have been sensitized to the new 2004 labor laws that criminalize 
child labor.  The Ministry of Labor and the ILO have noted that 
Trade Unions are beginning to provide an important measure of 
oversight. 
 
¶5. (U) Based on statistics provided by the Ministry of Education and 
Vocational Training, the 2007 gross primary enrollment was 114.4 
percent and net primary enrollment was 97.3 percent compared to 
112.7 and 96.1percent respectively in 2006.  The June 2007 Basic 
Education Statistics in Tanzania (BEST) Report outlined the 
following improvements in the education sector from 2006-2007: 
 
-- Improvement in the teacher to pupil ratio from 1:53 to 1:52; 
-- 860 new public schools and 64 non-government private schools; 
-- An additional 113,823 children between 5-6 years of age enrolled 
for pre-Primary education; 
 
Basic enrolment has increased by 4.8% from 1,316,727 in 2006 to 
1,379,291 in 2007.  This seems to indicate that as more schools are 
built at the village level, parents are inclined to enroll their 
children in schools instead of keeping them engaged in child labor. 
 
¶6. (U) Tanzania's primary schools are crowded as a result of free 
Universal Primary Education. The percentage of all primary school 
students who continue on to secondary school has risen to 84.3 
percent compared to 36.5 percent in the previous year.  The 
percentage of those going on from primary school to complete their 
secondary education is still low but growing. 
 
Legislation and Enforcement: 
---------------------------- 
¶7.  (U) In 2004, the Union Government of Tanzania (GOT) passed the 
Employment and Labor Relations Act No.6 and the Labor Institutions 
Act No.7, both of which provide for the protection of children from 
exploitation in the workplace and prohibit forced of compulsory 
labor.  The Employment and Labor Relations Act includes a specific 
prohibition of forced labor by children.  Unlike the previous law, 
the new labor laws establish a criminal punishment for employers 
that use illegal child labor as well as forced labor.  Violators can 
be fined an amount not to exceed 5 million shillings (USD 4,382.12), 
imprisonment for a term of one year, or both.  By law, children 
under the age of 18 are prohibited from being employed in mines, 
factories, ships or other worksites that the Minister of Labor deems 
to be hazardous. 
 
¶8.  (U) The legislative Acts of 2004 became operational in December 
2006 and the implementing regulations took effect in March, 2007. 
According to Mr. Festo Musee, Child Labor Unit coordinator at the 
Ministry of Labor, Employment and Youth Development, the Ministry 
has worked diligently in 2005 and 2006 to establish institutions, 
such as the Commission for Mediation, which will enable the GOT to 
enforce the 2004 labor laws.  In May 2006, the GOT formally 
reaffirmed its commitment to the USG to fight trafficking in 
persons. The GOT has stepped up efforts on the legislative front, 
with Ministry of Justice drafting an anti-trafficking in persons 
(TIP) bill in 2006.  According to the Attorney General's Office, the 
legislation is expected to be submitted to Parliament for the first 
reading in 2008. 
 
¶9.  (U) Several government agencies have jurisdiction over areas 
related to child labor, but primary responsibility for enforcing the 
country's child labor laws rests with the Ministry of Labor. 
Although the Ministry of Labor reportedly made inspections 
throughout the year and issued warnings to violators of child labor 
statutes, there were no reported child labor court cases in 2007. 
The low number of labor officers and the low salaries officers 
receive undermines the enforcement abilities.  The Ministry of Labor 
is also faced a high level of turn-over among its labor officers. 
 
¶10. (U) In Zanzibar, which has a separate Ministry of Labor laws 
covering the issue of Child Labor, the law prohibits employment of 
children under the age of 18 years, depending on the nature of the 
work.  The Employment Act N.11 of 2005 categorizes child labor 
practices as (a) ordinary practices for child labor, and (b) the 
worst forms of child labor.  The penalties for category (a) offenses 
are a fine of 500,000 shillings (USD 350.57) or imprisonment of up 
to 6 months.  For category (b) offenses, a fine of not less than 3 
million shillings (USD 2,629.27) or imprisonment of at least one 
year, or both.  In 2006, Zanzibar's Ministry of Labor did not 
prosecute any cases of child labor. 
 
GOT Policies and Programs: 
------------------------- 
¶11. (U) In November 2006, the Union Government's Ministry of Labor 
and Ministry of Education began working in partnership with Winrock 
International, a U.S. based non-government organization, to 
implement a five year project known as TEACH- Tanzanian Educational 
Alternatives For Children.  TEACH will work in five of Tanzania's 
most remote districts to reduce the overall number of children 
and/or youth engaged in the worst forms of child labor.  The TEACH 
project will establish non-formal Primary Feeder schools, Model Farm 
schools, and will provide scholarships and student kits for children 
to attend government schools.  The project will be implemented over 
five years with a USD 5 million budget, funded by the U.S. 
Department of Labor (USDOL). 
 
¶12. (U) The GOT has been working with the ILO-IPEC to implement the 
USDOL-funded Timebound Program (TBP) to eliminate the worst forms of 
child labor in Tanzania by 2010, including child labor in 
agriculture, domestic service, mining, fishing, and prostitution. 
The Child Labor Unit of the Ministry of Labor is working with 
ILO-IPEC under the Tanzanian Government TBP to provide training for 
district child labor coordinators and district officials in the 
TBP's 11 target districts, to increase their capacity to combat the 
worst forms of child labor.  According to the ILO, Phase I of the 
ILO-IPEC Project of support to the Tanzanian Government TBP was 
implemented by August 2006, with completion of a National Strategy 
to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labor, a monitoring system, and 
an awareness campaign launched through the Ministry of Education and 
Ministry of Community Development.   Phase II, which will involve 
expanding Phase I programs at the district level, is expected to be 
complete by the end of 2008. 
 
¶13. (U) In January 2006, a U.S. based NGO known as the Education 
Development Center (EDC) handed over learning centers to the 
Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, which the EDC had 
established in partnership with the Ministry from 2004-2005.  The 
purpose of the learning centers is to ensure children who are at 
risk of entering the worst forms of child labor have access to 
basic, quality education. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
¶14.  (U) In 2007, weaknesses in the education system, the HIV/AIDS 
epidemic, and the high level of poverty in Tanzania, continued to 
make Tanzanian children vulnerable to exploitation in the labor 
market.  However, the level of awareness about child labor appears 
to be on the rise in Tanzania, stemming from the efforts of the GOT 
and partner NGOs working in the most vulnerable regions across the 
country.  Tanzania has also made significant strides to improve its 
primary education system.  Opportunities for secondary education 
have also improve with the mass building of new schools, however, 
finding well trained teachers remains a major challenge. 
Enforcement efforts in Tanzania have been hindered by the lack of 
institutional capacity to ensure labor laws become enforceable on a 
national scale and the fact that many children are employed in the 
informal sector of Tanzania's economy. END COMMENT. 
GREEN