Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Social Development kick starts public hearings on the Children’s Amendment Bill at Makwarela township outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo on Sunday.
The Bill is meant to improve foster care services to children. It is also meant to resolve parental responsibilities on unmarried fathers, child marriages, services to children born to foreign parents and unaccompanied migrant children.
Limpopo and Mpumalanga are the first provinces to be visited by the committee. Limpopo has a number of cases of unaccompanied migrant children especially around Musina and the Beitbridge border post.
The committee will on Monday conduct public hearings at the Lenyenye community hall outside Tzaneen.
LRC calls for major overhaul of Children’s Act
The Legal Resource Centre (LRC) says the Children’s Act may need a major overhaul or separate legislation will have to be developed for Early Childhood Development (ECD).
The LRC is among the stakeholders making virtual submissions on the Children’s Amendment Bill before the Social Development Committee.
The Bill seeks among other things to further promote and protect the child’s rights. Some stakeholders argue that the Bill does not address reform in ECD.
An attorney from the Legal Resource Centre Sipesihle Mguga says: “So it appears that a major overhaul in relation to the Children’s Act in relation to ECD will be necessary or alternatively a new piece of legislation will need to be created specifically for ECD or the Schools Act will require amendments. It is evident that the Bill has not taken cognisance of the migration of ECD from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education as the Bill still assigns responsibilities to Social Development instead of Basic Education. Whatever legislative route is decided upon, the decision not to make the necessary legislative reforms now appears to be a serious oversight.”
