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The New Women's Movement today handed a memorandum on the Child Support Grant to the MEC of Social Services and Poverty Relief of the Western Cape, MEC David Malatsi. The MEC invited a delegation of the movement to have a meeting with him and gave them a chance to explain their demands.

During the meeting, the MEC committed himself to take the matter further with the National MEC of Welfare. The New Women's Movement requested to have a meeting between the National Minister of Welfare, the National Minister of Finance and the Provincial MEC of Social Services. MEC Malatsi committed himself to forward this as an urgent request to the respective National Ministers.

The MEC has also during the meeting stated that he and the Department are fully aware of and understand the effect, which the scrapping of the State Maintenance Grant will have on the Community. The Department has been implementing certain programmes in order to try to relieve the hardship, which the absence of this grant will cause and will be in constant consultation with the role-players throughout the province to monitor the situation.

The MEC said, "This is a very sensitive issue. Mothers who have been very dependent on this grant to feed their families and children, have now lost a source of income. For many this was their sole source of income. This month was the last time the se grants have been paid and from next month, the consequences of this will have an severe effect on all spheres of community life. The Department of Social Services and the other provincial departments like health, education, and rural development will urgently have to take hands, looking for the solutions to these problems."

Contact: Derick de Villiers on 083 556 6265/ 021 483 5457

Issued by: Office of the MEC of Social Services and Poverty Relief, Western Cape, 29 March 2001