ERMELO – Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners in the Gert Sibande District have raised their frustration in a march on July 15.

The action that was held at the Gert Sibande’s Department of Basic Education (DBE) gates, saw ECD centre owners and workers chanting and singing as they demanded to speak to the departments’ representatives in question about their outstanding payments.

President Cyril Ramaphosa previously announced that the responsibility for ECD centres will migrate from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) during the State of the Nation Address in 2019.

Due to Covid-19, the transition was formally made on April 1 when the minister of social development, Lindiwe Zulu, handed over the ECD function to the minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga.

The deputy minister of basic education, Dr Reginah Mhaule, recently paid a visit to Hoërskool Ermelo to engage with practitioners and centre managers, giving them assuring that the transition will go smoothly, however, payments have not been received.

According to one ECD centre manager, Dudu Nkosi from Sun City, practitioners have not received payments for the past four months now.

“We have not been paid our quarterly subsidies for four months now. Staff has also not been paid, schools are opening July 19 and we don’t have food in the centres. This is really a disaster,” Nkosi said.

Read the complete article in Highvelder newspaper.