LONG distance truck drivers plying routes along the Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu highway are fuelling child prostitution by targeting school children and teenage sex workers operating between Lutumba and Ngundu Halt.

Lutumba is a growth point in Beitbridge district while Ngundu Halt is in the neighbouring Masvingo province. The Beitbridge-Chirundu road corridor is a trans-African highway network.

The highway, which is also part of the North–South Corridor Project, is the country’s busiest and is the gateway to neighbouring countries.

The Chronicle newscrew recently visited the Lutumba and Ngundu and established that young rural girls as young as 12 years were falling prey to truckers.

Investigations by this paper revealed that some truckers were exploiting the girls by offering them money, old clothes, empty bottles of soft drinks and beer in exchange for sex.

In some instances, school-going girls are now absconding classes to frequent night spots.

A teacher in Ngundu, who requested anonymity, said some children from surrounding schools were engaging in sex work to raise money for lunch and school fees.

In Ngundu, elderly sex workers who spoke to The Chronicle said some of the teenage prostitutes were charging as little as 50c for a short session and between $2 to spend the night with a client.

The girls, mostly from the surrounding rural communities of Mutimurefu, Rutenga and Chiredzi in Masvingo province are also lured into unprotected sex by the truckers offering “high fees” ranging between $15 and $20.

Most of the teenage hookers who spoke to The Chronicle said they were forced to venture into the dangerous business due to the tough economic situation.