Parents are reportedly hiring out their children to beggars handlers for a commission in Harare The Sunday Mail reports. The child beggars are reportedly transported by their handlers from areas around Harare like Epworth and Hopley and assigned places to beg from where they beg the whole day and surrender takings to their masters and or handlers who will then pay their respective parents a commission.
Vendors are reportedly the ones who are in the trade of hiring out their children as they can monitor them from a distance. They are reportedly charging ZWL$30 to $40 per child, and a child is reportedly given a target of ZW$100 per day.
The publication spoke to a vendor who shed more light on the child beggars for hire scheme and said:
The child is given a specific target per day. Their commission is given to the parents. In the event that they fail to reach the target, the outstanding figure is deducted from the parents’ commission.