Tshwane councillors asked to assist ECD centres in their wards
“There are some, which are not registered operating in flats with a large number of children as they are assisting parents who are not earning much due to their type of employment.”
Councillors in Tshwane have been encouraged to assist early childhood development (ECD) centres sustain themselves and to make sure that the most vulnerable were protected.
This plea was made on Friday, as the country was still battling with the spread of Covid-19 and had just entered the third wave as announced by the minister of health.
Deputy minister of social development Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu said they were continuing to donate personal protective equipment to ECD centres to make sure children were protected in the time of Covid.
Bogopane-Zulu handed over PPE to the Bokamoso ECD centre in Sunnyside, Pretoria, including child-friendly sanitisers, gloves, masks as well as child mattresses.
The distribution initiative was part of the ongoing nationwide partnership between the department, the National Lotteries Commission and eSimphiwe Childcare Centre.
It started in March in Kwa-Zulu Natal, assisting 8 000 children and 227 ECDs and aims to service the centres through registration, provision and administration.
Bogopane-Zulu encouraged ECD learners and practitioners to regularly wash or sanitise their hands, maintain social distancing and avoid physical contact in their daily activities.
NLC regulatory compliance and enforcement advocate Makhosazana Lindhorst said as a commission, they were aware of ECD centres that were in dire need of assistance and funding.
“Councillors need to assist in identifying and creating awareness for ECD centres as civil society struggles to sustain themselves.”
She said ECD centres could register with the NLC to assist in fundraisers meant to ensure their sustainability.
“Councillors need to assist as they are in the core place of assisting communities.”
She said much awareness was needed for centres to quit relying on donations for their everyday needs.
Lindhorst said the NLC did not make any money from government and encouraged residents to play the lotto as well, as this was their means to fund vulnerable organisations.
“We generate a lot of money; however, it is not enough to assist all NPOs in the country.”
She said councillors and the DSD needed to work together with the commission as they could assist in registering NPOs to form their own lotteries.
“If you look at the community of Sunnyside, it is a big community and using it we can conduct our own competitions and use the proceeds to fund centres.”
Lindhorst said they were aware that many centres needed assistance as it was difficult for them to further comply with Covid-19 regulations.
“Covid-19 has added many responsibilities in the work of ECDCs and we have taken the opportunity to assist in these burdens as sanitisers and masks are expensive.”
Sunnyside councillor Godfrey Mulaudzi said many ECD centres needed assistance in his ward.
“There are some, which are not registered operating in flats with a large number of children as they are assisting parents who are not earning much due to their type of employment.”
He said zoning of these centres in his area was an issue.
Mulaudzi said he was also aware of ECD centres not feeding children appropriate nutrition.
He said his challenge was getting property owners and managers and other stakeholders to comply with zoning of their ECDCs.
“We also have a challenge in getting law enforcement agencies as well as the DSD to help rid many children off the streets of Sunnyside.
“We have tried to get police assistance for a long time, however, we are told that there is nothing they can do as they cannot take them anywhere.”
Mulaudzi said the difficulty in assistance was also mainly due to laws regarding the handling of children in need of interventions without the consent of parents.
He said through the NLC, DSD and other stakeholders, he was in a better position to create centres that were well zoned and registered.
According to Mulaudzi, there were many illegally used buildings in Sunnyside and the Tshwane metro along with other relevant departments needed to come together to clean up the area.
He said due to a lack of proper ECDCs, many children fell victim to criminal activities and were being used for money-making schemes, such as human trafficking.
“Children are used at robots to make money and we usually fold our hands because it is not our children or neighbours’ children. These vulnerable children are then robbed of their future and greater opportunities.”
Mulaudzi said the problem was a nationwide issue, however, the Sunnyside area was riddled with such acts.
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