The Minister of Labour, Vera Kamtukule said, her ministry is trying hard to end child labour in the country.

Kamtukule made the remarks during a meeting between Labour and Employment Ministers under Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe

She said, there are some companies and estates which hire children in order to work instead of sending them to school which increases school dropout in the country.

The Minister added that child labour in Africa affects children negatively, this is because about 9.3 million children are involved in child labour and an action needs to be taken fast.

The meeting attracted Employment and Labour Ministers from Namibia, Botswana , Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswathin and Malawi.