An incident which took place at Grace Day Care and Aftercare Centre in Norkem, Kempton Park a few months ago, where a five-year-old boy was given sunlight liquid as a form of punishment by a teacher, was deemed criticised by the MEC of Gauteng’s Department of Social Development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza.
She said, “It is the responsibility of the caregivers to make sure that children are safe and to ensure that they have supervision at all times.”
This incident contravenes the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, as it stipulates that children must at all times be cared for and protected in order to be safe. A proper child care centre should adhere to the norms and standards as prescribed by this Act.
“Care centres are entrusted by parents to ensure that children are treated with care at all times. Thus we find it unacceptable that this incident occurred at a place where children are supposed to be safe,” said MEC.
Gauteng Department of Social Development has assured it will act decisively to ensure that the matter is attended to as they work with the parents of the affected child and the police.
The centre is now being monitored by Child Welfare South Africa, continuous visits and close monitoring are undertaken to prevent incidents of this nature in the future.
The MEC has promised that her department is working with law enforcement agencies, all spheres of government and the Justice Department to do everything humanly possible to ensure that the necessary action is taken against anyone who may be found to have acted unlawfully.
