VZCZCXRO8768
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDR #0061/01 0300609
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300609Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8217
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0480
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 2781
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3297
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 1225
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1130
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAR ES SALAAM 000061 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT AF/E FOR JLIDDLE; DRL/ILCSR FOR TDANG 
FOR DOL/ILAB: TMCCARTER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID TZ
SUBJECT:  2008 TANZANIA CHILD LABOR REPORT 
 
REF: 2008 STATE 127448 
 
¶1. This cable is in response to guidance in reftel. 
 
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor: 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. The use of young girls, known as house girls, for forced domestic 
labor is the greatest child labor problem in Tanzania.  No 
statistics exist to delineate this problem.  In broader terms, the 
2006 Integrated Labor Force Survey (ILFS), conducted by the National 
Bureau of Statistics (NBS), estimated the population of children 
aged 5-17 at 12,083,349, about 31% of the approximately 40 million 
total population.  The survey found that 21% of children aged 5-17 
were engaged in child labor outside of the home, while 70% were 
engaged in home-based income generating activities; 85% were engaged 
in "work" more broadly defined, including both home-based income 
generating activities and unpaid household, childcare and 
agricultural work. 
 
¶3. According to the ILO, the key problem with the persistence of 
trafficking and child labor in agriculture, mining and fishing lies 
with the small, often family, enterprises.  Although children are 
engaged in small-scale, home-based agriculture, children are rarely 
employed in large-scale agriculture, including for tea, coffee, 
sugar cane, sisal, clove and tobacco production.  Similarly, it is 
in small-scale rather than industrial gold and tanzanite mining that 
child labor is seen.  According to the Director of the Good Hope 
Project, which rescues children from the Tanzanite mines, the mining 
companies support the project's work and refer children to it.  Good 
Hope sees the biggest challenge as parents and youths who prefer to 
seek immediate riches over the long term benefit of education. On 
Zanzibar, in addition to small-scale agricultural work, children 
often engage in work on small fishing boats.  Instances of child 
labor outside of the home occur primarily in the informal sector, 
which according to the World Bank accounts for over 50 percent of 
the economy. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Youth Development 
attributes the large orphan population, especially as a result of 
HIV/AIDS, as an important cause of child labor, since orphans often 
must provide for themselves and are vulnerable to involvement in 
exploitative labor. 
 
¶4. In a positive development, a U.S.-based NGO working in Tanzania, 
Winrock International, has observed a growing level of awareness 
nationally that child labor is illegal.  Winrock reported in its 
annual report that large-scale farms rarely use child labor, and 
employers are well aware of the 2004 labor laws that criminalize 
child labor.  Newspaper reports cited the Ministry of Labor and the 
ILO as crediting trade unions for providing an important measure of 
oversight in the prevention of child labor.  Another local NGO, 
Kiwohede, was instrumental in developing a special office within the 
Dar es Salaam Police Department to assist with identifying and 
placing children involved in the worst forms of child labor into 
Kiwohede's care for education and healthcare assistance. 
 
Classroom attendance and teacher to student ratio 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶5. Ministry of Education and Vocational Training educational 
enrollment statistics for 2008 show a slight decrease in gross 
primary enrollment (those who initially enroll for classes) and 
essentially no change for net primary school enrollment (those who 
complete the school year).  The 2004-2008 Basic Education Statistics 
in Tanzania (BEST) Report showed the following changes: 
 
-- Teacher to pupil ratio increased from 1:53 to 1:54; 
-- 135 new public schools and 92 non-government private schools 
opened; 
-- 36.3% of all children between 5-6 years of age were enrolled in 
pre-primary education in 2008, up from 33.1% in 2007; 
 
¶6. Tanzania's primary schools are crowded as a result of population 
growth and free universal primary education. The number of primary 
school students who continued on to secondary school decreased 
slightly, from nearly 450,000 in 2007 to nearly 440,000 in 2008. 
The number of those going on from primary school to complete their 
secondary education remained essentially unchanged for 2008. 
 
Legislation and Enforcement: 
---------------------------- 
¶7. The Ministry of Labor has the lead on issues related to child 
labor.  The Ministry employs 66 labor inspectors and relies on 
cooperation from the police for enforcement of labor laws.  The GOT 
has ratified ILO Convention 182 and maintains a list of the worst 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000061  002 OF 003 
 
 
forms of child labor.  The Employment and Labor Relations Act and 
the Labor Institutions Act of 2004 provide for the protection of 
children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibit forced or 
compulsory labor.  The Employment and Labor Relations Act includes a 
specific prohibition of forced labor by children.  These labor laws 
establish a criminal punishment for employers who use illegal child 
labor or forced labor.  Violators can be fined an amount not to 
exceed 5 million shillings (approximately USD 3,500), imprisonment 
for a term of one year, or both.  By law, 18 is the legal age to 
enter the military.  Children under the age of 18 are prohibited 
from being employed in mines, factories, ships, or any workplace the 
Minister of Labor deems to be hazardous. 
 
¶8. The implementing regulations for the Labor Relations Act and 
Labor Institutions Act of 2004 went into effect in 2007.  The 
Ministry of Labor, Employment and Youth Development worked through 
established institutions, such as the Commission for Mediation (CMA) 
and the Labor, Economic and Social Council (LESCO), to enforce the 
2004 labor laws.  Anti-trafficking in persons legislation was passed 
by the Parliament in February and signed by the President in August 
2008; however, the law had not been officially published by the end 
of the year, as required for it to take effect.  It is expected to 
be published in 2009. 
 
¶9. 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 cases brought to court 
in 2008.  The low number of labor officers and the low salaries 
officers received undermined effective enforcement abilities.  The 
Ministry of Labor continued to face a high level of turnover among 
its labor officers. 
 
¶10. In Zanzibar, which has a separate Ministry of Labor and 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.  Employment Act No.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) or imprisonment of up to 6 
months.  For category (b) offenses, a fine of not less than 3 
million shillings (USD 2,600) or imprisonment of at least one year, 
or both.  In 2008, Zanzibar's Ministry of Labor did not prosecute 
any cases of child labor. 
 
GOT Policies and Programs: 
-------------------------- 
¶11. The Tanzania Education Alternatives for Children (TEACH) 
Program, a five year partnership project between the mainland 
Ministries of Labor and Education and the U.S.-based NGO Winrock 
International, began in 2006 and continued working in remote 
districts to reduce the overall number of children engaged in the 
worst forms of child labor.  Winrock Executive Director, Patrick 
Fayaud, said that his group had been successful in ensuring that 
children in the areas where they are active attended school on at 
least a semi-regular basis.  The Winrock project enrolled 4,564 
children in TEACH-supported programs who were either engaged in 
child labor or at risk of entering into child labor activities.  By 
the end of the year 2,756 children were considered fully withdrawn 
from child labor by the program. 
 
¶12. The GOT worked with the ILO-IPEC to implement Phase II of the 
U.S. Department of Labor-funded Time-bound Program (TBP) to 
eliminate the worst forms of child labor by 2010.  Specific areas 
targeted by the TBP included child labor in agriculture, domestic 
service, mining, fishing, and prostitution.  The Ministry of Labor 
Child Labor Unit worked with the TBP to provide training for 
district child labor coordinators and officials to increase their 
capacity to combat the worst forms of child labor.  Phase II 
expanded from the 11 district covered in Phase I to five new 
districts, and is expected to be completed in September 2009.  By 
February 2008, 3006 children were withdrawn or prevented from child 
labor under the TBP. 
 
¶13. The GOT partnered with the International Organization for 
Migration to train its law enforcement officials, NGOs and community 
leaders on all aspects of child trafficking and the linked 
relationship to child labor through the Uwe Sauti Yao (Be Their 
Voice) campaign.  Be Their Voice supported traveling troupes of 
actors and singers and produced ads carried on radio, television and 
in newspapers.   There were also comic books to draw the attention 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000061  003 OF 003 
 
 
of youth.  This national process was also aided by the U.S. 
Department of Justice, which sent trainers to various regions of the 
country to train police officers, immigration officials and 
prosecutors on anti-trafficking measures.  The Ministry of Labor 
encouraged law enforcement officials and local communities to 
increase assistance to the Ministry  by identifying children at risk 
and preventing their entry into some of the worst forms of child 
labor. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
¶14. In 2008, funding and staffing shortages in the educational 
sector, HIV/AIDS, and the high level of poverty continued to make 
Tanzanian children vulnerable to exploitation in the labor market. 
However, the level of awareness about child labor was high, stemming 
from the efforts of the GOT and partner NGOs working in the most 
vulnerable regions across the country.  Tanzania made significant 
strides to improve its primary education system, but still has much 
to do.  During President Bush's 2008 visit to Tanzania, President 
Jakaya Kikwete noted strengthening the educational system as one of 
his most pressing issues.  Opportunities for secondary education 
have improved with the mass building of new schools; however, 
finding well trained teachers and paying them a competitive salary 
remains a major challenge. Enforcement efforts in Tanzania have been 
hindered by the lack of institutional capacity, poor pay and not 
enough officers to ensure labor laws are enforced. END COMMENT. 
 
ANDRE