Ghana government protests CNN documentary on child slavery
The Government of Ghana has protested a CNN documentary for poorly reflecting the efforts by government to address the detestable practice of child labour on the Volta Lake.
Cable News Network (CNN), in the past week has been airing a documentary which highlights the history and impact of the practice but does not highlight the efforts of the state in addressing the situation, government said.
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah in a telephone conversation and a subsequent letter to CNN said while the government of Ghana acknowledges the practice, it had worked in the last decade to curb the practice.
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The government and CNN have agreed to collaborate on a sequel highlighting government’s efforts to eradicate cases of child labor on the lake.
CNN through its producer and executive editor, Leif Coorlim said the state had been given an opportunity in the documentary to update on its efforts to resolve the challenge but was willing to offer a more comprehensive platform to outline the resolution of the practice.
A CNN documentary titled Troubled Waters, claims that Ghana’s Volta Lake has become a site where children are sold into slavery for $250.
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The report suggests more than 20,000 children have been sold into slavery and are currently working for slave masters on the lake.
The CNN special report held that most of the children come to the lake from villages situated hundreds of miles away.
Poor parents were mentioned as the ones selling their children to human traffickers, for as little as $250 or around GHC 1,200.
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Interestingly, this is not the first time reports have surfaced on thousands of kids in bondage on the Volta. YEN.com.gh research shows evidence of reports going back to 2007.
And in 2018, the news portal, Myjoyonline.com, reported that 49,000 kids have been held under regrettable conditions and being forced for profiteering activities on the Volta Lake.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
