Call for child rights bill to be reworked

CHILD rights organisations, activists and members of the public came out in their numbers yesterday in Khayelitsha for the first leg of the public hearings on the Children’s Amendment Bill.

The bill seeks, among other things, to strengthen the protective measures for children and to close gaps in the child protection system. It also intends to improve foster care services to children and resolve parental responsibilities on unmarried fathers.

While most of the presenters supported the bill, some organisations rejected it saying that in its current form, it is fundamentally flawed.

Bayakhanya Foundation founder Debbie Wybrow said the bill and the policy that was accepted in 2019 by Parliament were unconstitutional as they do not entrench the rights of children and do not prioritise what is best for a specific child.

Wybrow said the criteria essential in assessing what was best for the child had been excluded and the rights of others had been placed first, ahead of the child’s.

She said hierarchy must be set out in the bill and dealt with in the policy, or decision-makers would continue to fail children.

StellCARE director Bettie Nieuwoudt said for any legislation to be effective, amendments must be in line with either constitutional matters, or ineffective sections of identified areas that harmed the execution of the legislation and the intentions of the legislation.

She said they were concerned about the reasons for amending the act, which was based on the order of the high court on the backlog of foster care orders.

“To amend the Children’s Act to find ways to eliminate the backlog is disingenuous, instead of looking into why, what is in the interest of children in alternative care and how best can these interests be served.

“The amendments as contained, are, to the best of our opinion, no reason to amend the act to lessen the burden on social workers providing services to our children in the alternative, but must be carefully interpreted so that children are not further disenfranchised,” she said.

Wandisa social work supervisor Renate Malan said despite the more than 300 children abandoned each month in South Africa, the bill does not place proper focus on this issue. She suggested that the bill and the policy be reworked.

Social development portfolio committee chairperson Nonkosi Mvana said they had taken note of concerns raised, especially on foster care and issues relating to parenting.

“We are satisfied with the process, the members of the public and stakeholders that have come out to make their submission on this very important bill that would ensure the protection of the rights of children,” she said.

She said further hearings would be held in Beaufort West today, followed by more in George tomorrow.