Address by Dr ZST Skweyiya, the Minister of Social Development, at the Second Reading of the Children's Amendment Bill Debate, National Assembly, Cape Town

Madam Speaker;
Honourable Members;
Deputy Minister of Social Development;
Children of South Africa

It has been ten long years since work initially begun on the Children's Bill. In the meantime the conditions facing the children of South Africa have persisted, sometimes with added complications. It is therefore with great gratitude and honour that I stand here during this second reading of the Children's Amendment Bill. On the occasion of the first reading we committed ourselves to ensuring that South Africa and the world become places fit for children. I am therefore honoured to participate in yet another milestone which sets us on a sustainable path to realise this goal.

This goal is also recorded in the annals of our history in the body of the Freedom Charter and the International Conference on Children, Repression and Law in South Africa hosted in Harare in 1987. On the occasion of the 1987 Conference, President OR Tambo warned us that;
"We cannot be true liberators unless the liberation we achieve guarantees all children the rights to life, health, happiness and free development...Our liberation would be untrue to itself if it did not, amongst its first tasks, attend to the welfare of the millions of children whose lives have been stunted and turned into terrible misery..."

Madame Speaker, I am sure that Cde OR Tambo would agree that although it has taken ten years, we are now well on our way to ensuring that our liberation remains true to itself.

Honourable members, our ten-year journey coincidentally reached its penultimate pause a day after we marked social development month. It was also a month in which we chose to focus on children, by accelerating the delivery and registration of Early Childhood Development (ECD) sites. To date we have registered 9 726 ECD sites.

This Children's Amendment Bill is yet another contribution to the creation of an enabling environment to sustained interventions in the ECD sector. The legislation will also facilitate for deepened support to the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). This work includes the assessment, registration and monitoring of ECD programmes. Further, through this legislation this work will include the development of partial care strategies, programmes and centres. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that each and every child receives a lifetime foundation through an appropriate and quality pre schooling education. We do so, because we remain firm in our belief that quality education is a major contributor to our long term war against poverty and equality.

This Children's Amendment Bill is also destined to be an integral part of the Children's Act (Act 38 of 2005) thus bringing to realisation the full spectrum of child protection instruments available to all spheres of government. The Bill sets out to bring to life and fully operationalise our collective obligations to:
* promote the preservation and strengthening of families,
* realise constitutionally guaranteed rights to the child,
* putting the best interests of a child first, and
* strengthening community childcare and protection structures,

The Bill also introduces further improvements with regards to child protection by providing for well resourced strategies and programmes. In order to facilitate for collective action towards child protection, the Bill also places a responsibility on all members of society to report the abuse and neglect of children.

Honourable members, over the years we have been at the forefront of highlighting the growing number of child-headed households. We have also highlighted the limitations of the current policy and legislative vacuum in addressing the needs of these households. Consequently, the Bill further recognises and extends vulnerability criterion, with a view of supporting child headed households. In doing so, Heads of Departments in the provinces can now extend integrated services to children who head households. Additionally, the Bill allows for the courts and/or the Department to intervene in providing supervision by designated adults or organisations for all child headed households. The Bill also places a limitation on the powers available to supervisors of such households by obliging them to consult with the children, whilst also empowering the children to report inadequate supervision or abuse.

Honourable members, the Children's Amendment Bill initially passed by the NCOP had made provision for the discipline of children, much to public and media attention. Although many played to the public gallery, I am grateful for the leadership provided by the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee.

I am also grateful to all the members of the Committee who tried to reach consensus on this matter, but who in the end had to find a workable solution so as to avoid further delays to the balance of this amendment Bill.

I must however take this time to reflect on the outcomes of a national Children's Conference which was convened in 1992 in response to the outcomes of the 1987 Harare Conference. The child delegates at this 1992 Conference adopted "The Children's Charter of South Africa". This Charter addresses key principles in caring for children in the context of a democratic and free South Africa. Article five of the Charter directs the state, political parties and civil society to secure for the children of South Africa, "the right to be protected from all types of violence including...physical, emotional, verbal... and all other forms of violence". The Charter goes on further to say that "all children have the right to freedom from corporal punishment at school, from the police, and in prisons and AT HOME".

Honourable members, it is my hope that clause 139 will be further explored in a less sensational and more progressive manner. In the meantime, because we agree with you that the clause was erroneously tagged, we have deleted it from this Bill. We also value consensus and grassroots inputs. Consequently, we will endeavour to ensure greater and more meaningful consultations. We have started doing so during our annual consultations with the civil society last week in Pretoria.

We agree with the Honourable Masutha that "there is far too much at stake to let one clause derail this Amendment Bill". We believe the measures it puts in place in ensuring the safety of children is far more important than politicking.

The fate of the one in 31 children who work long hours remains in our consciousness. In this regard, the Amendment Bill places further prohibitions on child labour and exploitation, in line with international conventions.

The strides undertaken by the Bill in profiling the importance of family preservation and strengthening are far too dear to us. These family building interventions are also to be complemented by alternative care and revamped foster care provisions. These provide the possibility of ensuring that all children are cared for. We have also ensured that foster care is elaborated on by also including a provision for the placement of children with a family member. In addition to this, we have introduced a cluster foster care scheme which is to be managed by non-profit organisations, so as to accommodate care to groups of children in houses accommodating not more than six children per house. Amongst other innovations we have also introduced mechanisms to regulate child and youth care centres and drop-in centres.

Honourable members, I am sure you will join us in welcoming this Bill, which together with the Children's Act has been fully costed and will inform existing and future resource allocation for children at various levels. To successfully implement this Bill we will put in place institutional mechanisms for inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration as well as skills enhancement.

With regards to this, let me take this opportunity to thank all those stakeholders that have begun to assist with coordination and addressing capacity constraints faced by the public sector. In particular I was elated to receive an unsolicited copy of a Commentary on the Children's Act from Prof. Davel and Dr Skelton from the University of Pretoria.

The commentary was launched last week and is an excellent resource which sets out key issues related to the provisions of the Act. It is such foresight that enables us to ensure that our children grow up in a South Africa fit for them.

This contribution will no doubt complement all the other work we will undertake in the next few months related to the training of all our social service professionals and officials. All this will require the finalisation of regulations and norms and standards as well as practice guidelines which the department is currently drafting. This Bill together with the Children's Act will require a comprehensive communication strategy which can only be implemented in partnership with all of society including the private sector.

Let me conclude by reiterating our continued determination to ensure that our children grow up in a secure family life and enjoy the rights and privileges they deserve. We will continue to do everything in our powers, including forging the necessary partnerships to ensure that no child goes hungry or is abused by any member of our society. We shall not rest until South Africa is fit for our children.
My appreciation also goes to all civil society organisations, individuals, and officials from various state institutions, who all worked hard to ensure that this Amendment Bill remains true to our liberation and democracy.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Social Development
6 November 2007