Help is at hand for parents struggling to support their children

PARENTS who struggle to support their children should approach their nearest office of the Department of Social Development for help instead of abandoning their little ones.

This was the call from Parliament’s portfolio committee on Social Development chairwoman, Zoleka Capa, who expressed “disappointment” regarding an incident in which a 2-year-old boy was found abandoned at a shopping mall in Philippi East.

Yesterday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew charges of child abandonment when the boy’s 18-year-old mother appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut confirmed that the 18-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday around 8.30pm in the Marikana informal settlement. “The child is still in a place of safety in, Philippi East,” Traut said.

NPA regional spokesman, Eric Ntabazalila, confirmed that the charges were withdrawn due to a lack of evidence against her.

A statement issued on behalf of the Portfolio Committee for Social Development, expressed “shock” and “dismay” at the incident. It said that while the committee noted reports that the mother was unemployed and a single parent who stayed with siblings of her own age in the same house, the committee “condemned the irresponsible act of dumping the child”.

Capa was “dismayed” by the incident, considering that there were a number of programmes available from social development, that provide social relief to communities.

Capa told the Cape Argus: “I’m really worried about how many of such conditions exist”. She said she wanted to meet the mother to find out what her difficulties were.

“Also such children should not be treated as orphans because they grow up in isolation,” she said.