YOUNGSTERS begging at the intersection of Sandile Thusi (Argyle) and Mathews Meyiwa Road (Stamford Hill) Road have once again become cause for concern for local residents and motorists.
According to Heather Rorick from Bulwer Community Safety Forum, complaints are received daily from people living in the area. Rorick said she had gone to investigate and was disturbed to see very young children begging.
“When we stopped at the robot, a small child approached the window. He was so small I had to lean out to see him. When I asked how old he was, he said he was four. There are others that are younger than this, and women with babies as well. I am worried for their safety. If the women fall asleep, the children could crawl into the road and be hit by a car. If one of these children were killed, it would be so upsetting to a motorist,” she said.
She said complaints had come from as far away as Umhlanga, as well as allegations that some babies were being used by people who weren't their mothers, to beg.
“During the Soccer World Cup there was a Metro unit which stopped this happening, where are they now? It is against the Children's Act to beg, why is this not stopped? Who is going to take responsibility for this issue?” she asked.
Grant Smith, Berea CPF chairperson, said he had observed a lot of young children, boys and girls, at the intersection during the school holidays but that many of them had returned to school now.
He said he had received complaints from people who witnessed Metro Police drive by and fail to do anything about the situation.
Jarrod Evans, Florida Road UIP precinct manager, said the first thing that comes to mind is the safety issue.
“There is a bigger picture and the city needs to get involved, what if a driver hits one of these children? There's a reason they are begging at the intersections and the city needs to deal with this,” he said.
When Berea Mail went to inspect the intersection, a municipal worker who was busy cleaning up the area said the beggars left the area in a terrible mess which he had to clean every day. He said the police did remove the beggars but they just returned.
I CARE RESPONDS
ANNE Slatter from I Care said the children begging was a huge problem especially during the school holidays.
“We have tried to talk to the ‘moms’ and the kids but they do not want any help at all as they are just there for the money. The one ‘mum’ sits on the bank against the wall of the house in Argyle and watches the kids from her vantage point. She is a mother of one of our rehabilitated boys and does not have any small children. The other ‘mother’ is also mum to a boy who lived in our houses for a while,” she said.
Slatter said the women came from the Mshayazafe area and brought the children into town to beg for them.
“The police have spoken to them but have not forcibly removed them using the help of DSD Social workers or Child Welfare. I Care does not have the authority to remove any child from the street – we work with the kids and if they want help we give it and are then able to take them to the Hope Centre where we either help to rehabilitate or reunify them,” she said.
She said I Care had been very visible in its attempt to catch-net anyone new who may want help and the Hope Centre was only a stone’s throw from the intersection.
“I have asked our outreach team to make regular turns around that area and they always report the same. There was a new bunch there last week that increased the numbers and we saw to each of them. The frightening thing is that as you approach the kids they become frightened and run into the traffic which is what they did on the day the police went to speak to them,” she said.
CHILD WELFARE
MELAINE Pillay, executive director of Child Welfare Durban and District, said they were committed to the protection of all children and had policy in place which stipulated that when an intake social worker receives a report about a child, she will immediately go out to assess the situation to which the child is exposed.
“Our first action would be to talk to the parent of the child to ascertain their home circumstances and whether we can assist in any way. The parents are then cautioned that they are exposing their children to wilful neglect and exploitation as per the Children’s Act,” she said.
She said social workers then outline to the parents the options available for assistance to them.
She said in instances where the children are unhealthy or in danger and there is a poor prognosis for the parent taking the advice, they have removed children to the organisation's Child and Youth Care facilities as places of safety.
“Our recent challenge is that as our social workers frequent the 'hot spots', they, and our vehicles, are easily recognisable and the children and parents run away. They sometimes run into moving traffic which places them at even greater risk. We have in the past obtained the assistance from SAPS. However, when SAPS is seen they often elicit the same response,” she said.
She said the organisation realised it needed to undertake a joint exercise of addressing this challenge, and was exploring the suggestion of using 'plain clothes' SAPS staff to accompany social workers when they go out to investigate.
“As a child protection organisation we want to reassure the community that we are keen to go out to investigate such reports, albeit with the challenges faced logistically. We appreciate all the reports we receive, to which we readily respond. I urge the public to obtain a reference of the name of the individual and their manager who they report a case to,” she said.
ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY
TOZI Mthethwa, head of communications at eThekwini Municipality, said before the municipality could act on the issue of children begging on city streets it had to take into consideration three factors, whether the child is in need of care, whether the child is in conflict with the law and while begging had committed criminal offenses and if adults are using children to beg, which is an offence and the adult will need to be charged and a criminal case opened.
“The Municipality takes the issue of adults using children to beg very seriously. A holistic operational plan is developed to address this matter and is a collaboration effort between Child Welfare, Department of Health, the Department of Social Development, Metro Police, South African Police Service, National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa, Children’s Court and Safer Cities,” she said.
The operational plan is implemented in phases. Phase 1 is ongoing capacity building workshops facilitated to provide guidance to Law Enforcement officials addressing the issue of children begging at intersections and includes the Child Justice Act and the Children’s Act.
Phase 2 is education and awareness, and adults using children to beg are advised on the repercussion of their actions
Phase 3 is enforcement which takes place after all necessary interventions have been followed.
