The Portfolio Committee on Social Development is shocked by a case of the 18 year old girl from Philippi in Cape Town, who abandoned her two-year-old son at a shopping centre. At the same time, the Committee applauds the woman who spotted the child and took him to a police station.
Committee Chairperson Ms Zoleka Capa said that the Committee is dismayed by this incident, considering that the government has, through the Department of Social Development, put together a number of programmes to provide social relief to communities.
“While the Committee notes reports that the mother of the child is unemployed and a single parent who stays with siblings of her own age in the same house, the Committee condemns the irresponsible act of dumping the child,” Ms Capa said.
The Committee further calls on parents, young and old, experiencing difficulty in raising their children to ask for social relief from their nearest Department of Social Development.
The Committee is also extending its appreciation to the police officers who welcomed the child and took him to the local social worker.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Justice Molafo
Tel: 021 403 8444
Cell: 081 424 7481
E-mail: jmolafo@parliament.gov.za
