QUESTION
13. The Leader of the Opposition (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
Whether, in light of the worrying statistic that around 27% of children under the age of five years old in the Republic are stunted, he has found that the Government is on track with its policy commitment to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030, as espoused in the National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security for the Republic of South Africa, 2018-2023; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
REPLY:
Honourable Members,
Child malnutrition is the one of the greatest impediments to the well-being of our people and the development of our society.
The fight against child poverty is therefore one of the priorities of this administration.
This is reflected in several social protection interventions to ensure that every child has access to adequate nutrition and decent housing, to free health care, education and child care.
Over the years, we have increased the coverage of the Child Support Grant to protect poor and vulnerable children.
To date, over 13 million children have access to the Child Support Grant, compared to 12.5 million in 2018.
Various independent research findings, including those conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), have confirmed that the Child Support Grant directly reduces poverty and vulnerability among children.
The social assistance programme is complemented by other Government interventions, including the School Nutrition Programme and Community Nutrition and Development Centres that provide nutritious and healthy meals to vulnerable households.
The number of learners that receive free school meals has increased by half a million over the last four years, from 9.1 million in 2018 to 9.6 million now.
Government has adopted the 1,000 Days Campaign, which aims to improve the nutrition of pregnant women and children during the first 1,000 days of life to help ensure children get the best start to life and the opportunity to reach their full potential.
This initiative is implemented by the departments of Social Development and Health, and it includes nutrition education and awareness for pregnant and lactating mothers, complimentary feeding support, and growth monitoring and nutrition counselling.
The Department of Social Development is currently working on a maternal support policy to introduce state social assistance provision for vulnerable pregnant women.
Once the policy has been finalised, it will be presented for approval by the relevant structures.
The Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey conducted between 2021 and 2022 concluded that despite significant investments in social grants, food insecurity and household and child hunger remained stubbornly high.
Child malnutrition is a product of poverty, unemployment and inequality in society.
Therefore, our interventions to support vulnerable children must be implemented alongside actions to drive inclusive economic growth, investment and job creation.
I thank you.
QUESTION
14. Mr J S Malema (EFF) to ask the President of the Republic:
(1) Whether, notwithstanding that he launched the Anti-Gang Unit on 2 November 2018 with the intention of disabling the criminal economy linked to gangsterism, the scourge continues unabated including, but not limited to, kidnapping, torturing of women and money laundering, he has assessed the reasons for its proliferation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether he intends to introduce any new policy directives and or take any steps to curb the proliferation of the specified crimes in the Republic; if so, what policy directives and/or steps has he put in place and/or taken that will ensure that these crimes are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted?
REPLY:
Honourable Members,
Gangsterism, kidnapping and extortion is, in the main, undertaken by criminal enterprises that both threaten national security and erode the social fabric of communities.
The South African Police Service has established several initiatives to address gangsterism and the crimes associated with it.
The capacitation of SAPS members to address gangsterism is a priority.
Since the Anti-Gang Unit was established in the Western Cape in November 2018, it has made 819 arrests for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, 442 arrests for murder, 253 arrests for attempted murder and 1,387 arrests for drug-related crimes.
It has also confiscated large quantities of firearms, ammunition and drugs.
These figures demonstrate both the scale of the problem and the achievements of the Anti-Gang Unit.
The work of the unit includes integrated intelligence-led operations guided by regular interaction with stakeholders, information from informers and analysis of crime patterns and threats.
The organised, transnational and cybercrime approach involves the identification and investigation of organised crime threats.
These multidisciplinary investigations are not limited to a specific geographical area and may cut across provincial and international borders.
These investigations may include external stakeholders such as the National Prosecuting Authority and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
The aim is to disrupt, neutralise and dismantle identified organised crime threats.
The operational approach is complemented by strategies to focus on specific violent crimes.
For example, the SAPS has a plan to address gender-based violence and sexual offences, which emanates from the National Strategic Plan on GBV and Femicide.
The GBV Action Plan is multi-sectoral and deals with domestic violence, sexual offences, human trafficking and serial rape.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation – the Hawks – investigates money laundering and asset forfeiture on all national priority offences, including kidnapping.
While crime rates remain extremely high, it is evident from the reports of the SAPS, the Hawks, the National Prosecuting Authority and other law enforcement entities that progress is being made in apprehending and prosecuting these criminals.
I thank you.
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