Causes of child labour in tanzania:the case of Njombe district

The study discusses the causes of child labour, the case of Njombe District. It assumes that the number of working children in Tanzania is increasing rapidly, despite measures taken by the government, NGOs, and private institutions to deal with the problem. These include legal measures, community education and the establishment of rehabilitation centres. Literature shows that much is known about child labour problem but little is known about the problem in Njombe. Therefore a survey was conducted in Njombe so as to investigate the intensity of this problem there. Three areas in Njombe district were taken as sample and observed. These were Njombe town, Makambako and Kibena Tea plantations. A total of 193 working children, and government officials were interviewed. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling were adapted to select working children. Chi- square test was performed to test for the association between duration of work and amount paid per month. The data reveal that most child labourers are between 12 and 17 years of age,most of them being primary school leavers. A majority of them are from single parent families which are predominantly poor peasants but few engage in office work and trading activities. The victims usually come from large families with more than six children per family. Children are forced to enter the labour market because of factors such as poverty, broken families, large families, dependants being forced by their parents or guardians and loss of parents.The most predominant forms of child labour in the district are observed in the informal sector and in homes. It was also observed that some of the children involved in informal sectors own businesses. Child labour in plantations is low due to the company's strictness in abiding by labour recruitment procedures and laws. Poverty as indicated by parents' failure to provide basic needs to their children and orphanage were observed as the most significant causes of child labour in Njombe district. The study observed that measures taken against the problem were more verbal than practical.Within the area of the study, there was not even a single institution or rehabilitation centre to deal with the problem. For example, those who have employed domestic child workers were forced to release them without considering their future prospects. This short fall intensifies the problem, as the children were forced to become street children and most of them took up work on casual basis. In this regard policy measures seem to address the symptoms of the problem rather than the real causes of child labour, as the measures do not aim at long term solutions to the problem. Financial crisis and poor coordination between the centres and the government are among the problems facing child labour eradication initiatives. The study recommends ways of controlling the phenomenon through poverty alleviation, especially in rural areas and by involving families and government in addressing the problem.