Children ask govt to prioritise their rights

Children in Mwanza District have asked government to prioritise their rights so that that they can achieve their goals.

They made the call on Tuesday during the 5th session of Children Parliament in the district.

Speaker of the Parliament Victoria Ganamba cited challenges such as sexual harassment, child marriages and child labour as obstacles to their education.

“We have been discussing many issues since 2016. Although things are changing, most of our concerns remain the same,” she said.

Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare director of child affairs McKnight Kalanda said lack of resources was affecting children’s rights.

He said: “We are taking time to address some of the issues because they attract many resources.

“For instance, in 2020 as a result of Covid-19, the ministry registered over 20 000 child marriages and over 40 000 teen pregnancies. If we took all the cases to court, this could have taken us much time and financial resources.”

Save the Children Child Rights Governance programme manager Donnex Bengo said the Parliament is a springboard for promoting children’s rights.

“We believe various duty-bearers at district and national level will act on the resolutions,” he said.