Peter Flentov, Atlantic Seaboard Community Forum
Dear MEC Jaco Londt, I am concerned about the provincial Department of Social Development’s apparent lack of attention to the growing problems associated with street children on the Atlantic Seaboard and elsewhere in the Cape Town metro area.
I understand that earlier this year the department eliminated the social worker position dedicated to street children in the area.
I appreciate that the department has to deal with the reality of financial constraints, but when it comes to the problem of street children, it is not a question of whether the department can afford to do what is needed, but whether it can afford not to do what is needed.
There are a significant number of children that are a chronic problem on the Atlantic Seaboard. Some are known to live on the streets and in homeless encampments such as The Kraal in the Bo-Kaap, but many are brought in from areas such as Kraaifontein and Kalksteenfontein to beg on the streets of the Atlantic Seaboard.
They are present in the area on a daily or near daily basis, and residents regularly report seeing them sniffing what is assumed to be glue from packets.
Frequently they hang out in groups of 5 to 10 individuals and harass and threaten vulnerable people, especially the elderly and women.
It has gotten to the point where many of the resident at Sea Point Place are too scared to walk outside the facility (Sea Point Place is one of the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged’s largest retirement facilities, and the street children typically congregate at the traffic lights outside the facility’s entrance.)
Some of the children have been known to become threatening and aggressive when people refuse to give them money.
There have been a number of reported incidents this year where street children have been involved in chain snatching and other incidents of robbery.
In short, the street children pose a clear and present danger to residents and visitors on the Atlantic Seaboard. But the problem does not stop there.
There is little doubt that, unless urgent interventions are taken, the street children will become habitual criminals when they become adults.
In short, they represent a lost generation. Street children on the Atlantic Seaboard, as elsewhere, are subjected to neglect and abuse, as defined in the Children’s Act 38 0f 2005 and are therefore children in need, in terms of the act.
The act further mandates that the Western Cape Provincial Government is responsible for providing the services needed by children in need.
Until now the Department of Social Development has failed to properly deal with the problem of street children.
I urge you urgently to ensure that a plan to deal with the problem is put together, and to communicate this plan to the relevant stakeholders and to members of the effected communities. We cannot afford to ignore both the short-term and the long-term consequences of the problem.
These children deserve better.
• Monique Mortlock-Malgas, spokesperson for the provincial Department of Social Development, responds:
Firstly, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) refutes the author’s claim that we have “eliminated” the social worker position that works with street children.
The post was left vacant after the social worker received another opportunity elsewhere. We are in the process of filling the position.
It must be noted that the handling of street children cases is done the same way as when DSD social workers deal with cases of a child in need and care of protection. Any social worker can thus assist with a street child issue, as is the case now with DSD social workers from the Metro North area who are dealing with those cases on the Atlantic Seaboard.
The department’s social workers are working with the City of Cape Town to assist with removing children from the street where possible. However, we also urge residents who encounter criminal acts by minors to open a criminal case in order to empower the SAPS and DSD to intervene in terms of the Child Justice Act.
Minors who are arrested can be placed into the department’s secure care facilities, where they will receive the necessary developmental and rehabilitative programs, and convicted minors’ criminal records will be expunged when they become adults provided that they do not re-offend.
Furthermore, on September 16, Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Jaco Londt, the head of department, Dr Robert Macdonald, and other officials from DSD met with the City of Cape Town’s Sub-Council 16 councilors to discuss various issues of concern, including children living on the street. There were several resolutions emanating from this meeting, including but not limited to:
1) Resolve to meet every three months.
2) Field Workers and DSD social workers to work together on conducting visits to “hot spots” to conduct assessments on street children.
3) Explore opportunities for private sector involvement based on the data and needs.