Editorial

From Swaziland, James Hall reports that multinational corporations are at the forefront of fighting for child rights, and for the first time, Swazis now know that it is illegal to engage child labour.

Kenya s tourism industry, the second largest foreign exchange earner after tea, is on the brink of collapse following travel warnings issued by the US and UK governments. As AFRICANEWS Associate Editor Zachary Ochieng reports, the advisories came just when the industry was recovering from the effects of previous terror attacks.

At a time when Botswana has intensified its drive against the progression of HIV/AIDS infections, a new threat to children orphaned by the pandemic has emerged. Rodrick Mukumbira reports that the orphans relatives have sold property left behind by dead parents, thereby denying them their basic rights.

The sight and presence of school-age boys and girls in tea and tobacco estates in Malawi is now a thing of the past, following tough measures that the government, multinational corporations, trade unions and other non governmental organisations are executing in a bid to stamp out the evil labour practice. Charles Banda reports.

Form Ghana, child labour is widespread, and young children of school-going age often perform menial jobs either in the markets or serve as maids to their fortunate kinsmen or even total strangers. As Sam Sarpong further reports the economic situation in the country has driven a lot of parents to virtually give out their children to child traffickers because they barely have enough to eat and they think their children could be better off elsewhere.

Back to Kenya, Zachary Ochieng, reports that despite the challenges in the fight against child labour, an ILO-IPEC report commends the country for major achievements like successful awareness campaigns, mobilizing different sectors in preventing children from dropping out of school, withdrawing many others from exploitative and hazardous conditions and returning them to school or vocational training.

While the temperature was settling following president Bakili Muluzi's announcement that he had dropped his bid for another term of office, the religious violence perpetrated by the Muslims casts doubts of a free and fair presidential, parliamentary and local government elections slated for May 2004. Hobbs Gama reports on the latest religious tensions over the arrest of five people alleged to be members of Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.