A magistrate court at Dambai in the Krachie East District of the Volta Region has slapped a 12 month jail term on a mother for selling her eight year old boy into child labor for an amount of 300 cedis.
A child trafficker found to have fronted the illegality also received one year in jail.
PrimeNewsGhana sources say the trafficker and the mother of the child conspired to put the boy to work under slavery conditions on the volta lake for a period of two years for the 300 cedi fee.
At the time of the arrest, the mother had already received a third (100) of the agreed amount. The minor had also been put to work on the lake for several weeks.
The court in passing judgment regretted that the mother, knowing very well the conditions under which the young boy will be subjected to, sold him off in his formative years. It concluded among others she had acted selfishly in her interest to the detriment of the 8 year old.
Child labor on the Volta lake is a major challenge confronting the country, especially in communities in the catchment area of the volta lake. Many children are sold off by poverty stricken parents and guardians, to work for fishermen on the lake in inhumane and deadly conditions.
They are often made to dive into the lake without any protective gear to retrieve tangled nets. Many have drowned in the process.