[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

6 November 2007

Madam speaker
Honourable Minister, Zola Skweyiya
Honourable members,
MECs for Social Development here present
Distinguished guests
Representatives of civil society in the public gallery
Ladies and gentlemen:

It's an honour today for me to address the National Assembly on this historical Second Reading Debate of the Children's Amendment Bill.

Let me commend all the role players, particularly the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, The Select Committee on Social Services, The Children's Act Steering Committee and the Children's Directorate in the Department of Social Development, who have left no stone unturned in finding the dispensation for South Africa's children that the Constitution and other international instruments on children's rights demand.

The particular focus of my address will be on some of the critical aspects that are central to the child protection system. As mentioned by the honourable Minister Zola Skweyiya, the Children's Amended Bill is a Section 76 Bill that has particular focus on implementation and service provision to our children, youth and families.

My focus will be on prevention and early intervention services, which is Chapter 8 in this Bill, but I want to emphasise, in the process, the important role of parents, as care givers to children and that they are the 'social glue' that holds the family unit together. There is absolutely no intention of this legislation to undermine the important role that parents play to curb the need for children to be placed in alternative centres of care.

Madam speaker, this is the first time in the history of this country that legislation makes special provision for prevention and early intervention services, especially to children, youth and their families.

If one considers the extent of the abuse, neglect and exploitation of children in this country; the high incidences of alcohol and substance abuse amongst both adults and children; the increasing number of young people who are committing crimes and in some instances serious crime such as rape and murder and the phenomenon of children living and working on the streets that have become a common sight, it becomes clear that we have neglected the family as the fundamental unit of society.

The family is not only integral to the general well-being of individuals in relation to their psychosocial, emotional, physical, spiritual and economic needs, but it is also a cradle from which the values and norms of a society are transmitted and preserved. It is in the family environment that children are born, nurtured, supported and provided with opportunities for growth and development into competent and productive adults. Therefore, the family is the basic institution in society for the survival, protection and development of children.

The Bill is proactive as it seeks to promote and strengthen the family to fulfil its responsibilities to prevent the influx of children into the formal statutory care system.

Prevention and early intervention services in the Bill include services that are provided to families with children in order to strengthen and build their capacity and self-reliance to address problems that may or are bound to occur in the family environment which, if not attended to, may lead to statutory intervention. Such services mainly target families where there are children who have been identified as being vulnerable to or at risk of harm and it become necessary for removal into alternative care.

The Bill provides programmes for:

* preserving a child's family structure

* developing appropriate parenting skills and the capacity of parents and care-givers to safeguard the well-being and best interests of their children, including the promotion of positive, non-violent forms of discipline

* developing appropriate parenting skills and the capacity of parents and care-givers to safeguard the well-being and best interests of children with disabilities and chronic illnesses

* promoting appropriate interpersonal relationships within the family

* providing psychological, rehabilitation and therapeutic programmes for children

* preventing the neglect, exploitation, abuse or inadequate supervision of children and preventing other failures in the family environment to meet children's needs

* preventing the recurrence of problems in the family environment that may harm children or adversely affect their development

* diverting children away from the child and youth care system and the criminal justice system and;

* avoiding the removal of a child from the family environment

* empowering families to obtain the basic necessities for themselves

* providing families with information to enable them to access services

* supporting and assisting families with a chronically ill or terminally ill family member

* early childhood development; and

* promoting the well-being of children and the realisation of their full potential.

In order to ensure the implementation of such programmes, the Bill provides for the development of a strategy at national and provincial levels as well as provincial profile of such services, norms and standards, for the provision of prevention and early intervention services.

An obligation is placed on the MEC of a province to ensure that funds allocated for early intervention and prevention services are fully utilised for this purpose. We need to strengthen partnerships between government and non-governmental organisations, especially community-based organisations and faith-based organisations that have been providing prevention and early intervention services without state support. This will facilitate the implementation of this specific chapter of the Bill, as well as others.

Although emphasis of the Children's Bill is on prevention and early intervention services, there would still be a number of children who will require alternative care such as temporary safe care, foster care and child and youth care centres.
Provision made for therapeutic programmes in alternative care especially in child and youth care centres, is a significant move for ensuring that each child has a programme designed for him while in alternative care this will benefit children with behaviour problems including those that are addicted to alcohol abuse and drugs, children in conflict with the law and those that have been harmed emotionally by abuse, neglect or trauma.

In conclusion, madam speaker, this Bill makes it obligatory for professionals and other service providers working with children to report children who have been abused, neglected or exploited or those who for other reasons need care and protection. It allows community persons who have reasonable grounds to believe that a child needs protection and care to similarly report such observations.

I appeal to everyone in this country to make use of this mechanism in the new legislation to report abuse, neglect and abandonment of children to relevant persons, who include: South African Police Services, Social Workers, Social Service Professionals in government or Child Protection Organisations.

I believe that if the entire nation is alert and reports perpetrators of crime against our children, we will win the battle against violence and exploitation of our children.

I support this Children's Amendment Bill for its holistic approach and comprehensiveness towards realising the constitutional rights as well as international rights of our children to development, protection and care.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Social Development
6 November 2007