The Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development together with the National Department of Social Development are considering court action to remove minor and unaccompanied children from the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg.
This comes after social workers who tried to remove the children this week were frustrated and undermined. The departments together with non-governmental organisations have had a series of engagements with the leaders of the church to have children moved to safe accommodation.
In the past fortnight, department officials held no less than four meetings with Archbishop Paul Veryn as well as the children to prepare for the orderly removal of unaccompanied children to shelters.
The last meeting was held on Friday, 4 December where it was agreed that children would converge at the church on Monday for their assessment and removal.
However when social workers arrived at the church, the children were not there. The principal of their school, who was supposed to be there to assist in the process, also did not show up. When the officials went to the school to locate the children, they saw some of them running away.
The department together with the Johannesburg Child Advocacy Forum, a formation established by non-governmental organisations to address the right of these children to safety, protection, care and education, has been working for several months to have children placed in registered in youth and child care centres.
So far 38 children have been placed at Kids Haven while 16 were placed at Siyakhula children’s home.
The department has an obligation, under the Child Care Act, to safeguard the rights of children to protection, safety, care and education. This applies to all children irrespective of legal status and the department is determined to enforce these rights.
For more information contact:
Simon Zwane
Cell: 082 551 9892
Mandla Sidu
Cell: 082 773 9013
Issued by the Department of Health and Social Development, Gauteng Provincial Government
10 December 2009
