Across the busy streets of Harare, a troubling sight has become all too familiar. Young boys,
many of them hailing from Mozambique, can be seen weaving through traffic, clutching
small bundles of airtime cards, sweets, and cigarettes. Dressed in Econet-branded bibs, these
children have become a fixture in the city’s informal economy. Yet their determined faces
belie a much darker reality are these children simply trying to survive, or are they victims of
exploitation hidden in plain sight?
Upon cursory inspection, their endeavours might be misconstrued as manifestations of
entrepreneurial spirit or tenacity. These young boys, frequently distanced from the embrace of
familial bonds, endeavour to carve out a semblance of legitimate sustenance in a metropolis
that proffers scant avenues for those adrift. They vend airtime on behalf of Econet
intermediaries, accruing paltry commissions that scarcely suffice to procure their quotidian
sustenance. For numerous individuals, this represents the singular path to survival amid a
landscape where formal employment is a rarity and social security frameworks are tenuous at
best.
However, a meticulous scrutiny unveils a disquieting ethical and juridical conundrum.
Zimbabwe, akin to numerous nations, is governed by statutes that expressly forbid the
employment of minors and safeguard them from economic predation. Section 11 of the
Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] unequivocally stipulates that no employer shall engage a child or
young person in any occupation or endeavour that could imperil their health, safety, or moral
integrity. This edict is congruent with international accords, such as the International Labour
Organization (ILO) Convention No. 138 regarding the Minimum Age for Employment and
Convention No. 182 addressing the Most Heinous Forms of Child Labour. By such
benchmarks, the plight of these Mozambican youths engenders profound legal and ethical
quandaries.
The impetus for their exodus to Zimbabwe is ensconced in a labyrinthine amalgam of
humanitarian exigencies and economic malaise. A significant proportion of these children
emerge from regions in Mozambique ravaged by Cyclone Idai, which obliterated domiciles
and livelihoods in 2019. Others have fled the relentless turmoil in Cabo Delgado, where
violent upheaval has uprooted myriad families. Compounding this crisis are chronic
economic adversities that thrust families into destitution, compelling children to traverse
borders in pursuit of survival. The majority of these boys arrive in Zimbabwe bereft of
appropriate documentation, rendering them susceptible to exploitation and elusive to formal
safeguarding systems.
These children endure protracted hours of labour beneath oppressive conditions, perilously
exposed to the hazards of traffic, capricious meteorological extremes, and the incessant
exigency to fulfil sales quotas. Their earnings are scant, often merely sufficient to purchase
sustenance for a single day. Reports indicate that many reside in overcrowded and perilous
dwellings, stripped of access to adequate sanitation, healthcare, or educational opportunities.
This grim reality usurps their entitlement to a secure and nurturing childhood, egregiously
undermining their fundamental human rights and developmental prospects.
The role of Econet agents introduces an additional layer of complexity to this intricate issue.
While the corporation itself may not directly engage these minors, the intermediaries who
provision them with airtime derive profit from their labour. This circumstance invokes critical
inquiries regarding corporate accountability and the ethical scrutiny of commercial practices
within the informal sector. By wilfully averting their gaze from such arrangements,
corporations perpetuate a cycle of exploitation masquerading as opportunity.
Moreover, the predicament elucidates broader societal and policy deficiencies. The migration
of children from Mozambique to Zimbabwe epitomizes entrenched economic disparities and
the glaring absence of efficacious cross-border mechanisms for child protection. Both
sovereign entities bear a shared obligation to ensure that migrant children are not coerced into
exploitative labour due to the dual scourges of poverty and displacement, or the lack of
proper documentation.
To grapple with this conundrum necessitates a nuanced and variegated methodology. Law
enforcement entities must meticulously scrutinize and regulate the engagement of juvenile
vendors by mercantile agents. Social welfare institutions ought to discern and bolster these
youths through avenues of rehabilitation, enlightenment, and secure domiciles. Civil society
collectives can assume a pivotal role in advocacy and consciousness-raising, ensuring that the
populace perceives this predicament as an infringement upon child rights rather than a mere
economic enterprise.
In the end, the sight of youthful Mozambican boys vending airtime on the thoroughfares of
Harare ought not to be rendered as a banal norm. Their existence epitomizes a profound
systemic dereliction and economic desolation. While their fortitude is commendable, no child
should be compelled to barter safety, education, and dignity for mere survival. The
demarcation between survival and exploitation is perilously thin yet in this instance, it is a
boundary that society cannot afford to overlook.
Confronting this intricate dilemma will demand a concerted endeavour from a multitude of
stakeholders, encompassing governmental bodies, civil society entities, and the private sector.
Only through the recognition of the intrinsic dignity and rights of these children, alongside
the execution of holistic solutions that tackle the fundamental causes of their tribulations, can
we commence the metamorphosis of this disconcerting reality into one wherein all youth are
afforded the opportunity to flourish.
BY
Ngoni P Jemwa is a seasoned development practitioner with a deep understanding of
the complex challenges facing the globa South.
&
Aribino N. is a gender conscious writer and commentator whose work explores
intersections of identity, culture and social change.
