Gauteng police are appealing to anyone with information to come forward following the discovery of two bodies of girls aged 10 in an abandoned building in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria on Friday.
The bodies were burnt beyond recognition. Police were alerted by members of the public. Police spokesperson, Kay Makhubele, says a manhunt for the suspects has been launched.
Police are appealing to residents who have information to come forward to assist with the investigation.
“We will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident. We are calling for anyone to call the nearest police station or crime stop number, 08600 10111 if they have information.”
Gender-based violence has come to regarded as a pandemic in South Africa and government has been urged to address with urgency. President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday that processes have been put in place to ensure that the recently launched Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund will be managed in an ethical and transparent manner.
Ramaphosa earlier launched the private sector-led fund aimed at supporting the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) and the wider GBV response in the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launches GBVF Response Fund:
Ramaphosa said the launch of the fund fulfils the promise made to women and children during a summit held in 2018, to end the scourge of violence and killing of women and girls in the country.
“The fund will be managed and administered under the strictest principles of good governance, due diligence transparency, and accountability. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Anglo American of R30 million from Absa of R20 million and the contribution by the Ford Foundation of R20 million. I also want to thank those companies that have offered their services on a free basis to assist with the financial and audit aspects as well as legal.”
Ramaphosa said while COVID-19 has negatively impacted the government’s GBVF programmes, some progress has been made.
“We have allocated nearly R21 billion over the three years of the medium-term expenditure framework to support all the pillars of the national strategic plan. I also receive the report detailing the expenditure associated with GBV-related programmes in every government department.”
