DA concerned 727 children still waiting for foster care placement in Gauteng

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng says it is worried that there are at least 727 children still waiting for foster care placement in Gauteng.

MPL Refiloe Nt’sekhe said some of these children had been on the waiting list for almost three years.

“The department of social development is failing to expedite the placement of the most vulnerable members of society who are in desperate need of a safe place to stay.

“If this department was serious about ensuring the safety and welfare of our children, they would have placed these children by now.”

Nt’sekhe warned that the children still on the waiting list did not have access to the money that was meant to take care of them and their needs as a result of the alleged incompetence of the social welfare department.

“It is high time that the people of Gauteng are given a government that cares about their needs and prioritises the plight of the most vulnerable in our society.”

The party vowed to continue to put pressure on the MEC for social development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, to ensure that the children were placed into foster care “as a matter of urgency”.

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