Mr Speaker, the reply to the question is that people who are convicted of crimes against children are placed on the Child Protection Register because, firstly, the South African Constitution protects the rights of children. Secondly, in the Constitution, we have the Bill of Rights, which also protects vulnerable people. According to the laws of our country, a person who accesses these rights must be 18 years of age or younger. So, that is why we have the process of protecting the children. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members, order! Proceed, hon Minister. I haven't stopped you, proceed.
The process of registering offenders, firstly, is that a person must go through the court processes, be convicted and found unsuitable to work with children. That person will be in register B. In register A, we have all reported cases of people who are negligent, who harass children, and who abuse the girl- and boy-child. Part A has to do with all forms of abuse and Part B is about the unsuitability of a person to work with children.
The Children's Act has two sections that deal with the issue, sections 119 and 120. I think we all know that section 119 is about identifying the particulars of a person, such as name, surname, address and identity number. Section 120 deals with the substance of what the offender, or whoever, has done to violate the rights of children. [Time expired.]
Thank you, hon Minister, your time has expired. [Interjections.]
Thank you, Speaker. The quality of the Minister's reply reflects the quality of the information on the Child Protection Register: absolutely nonexistent.
HON MEMBERS: Hear, Hear!
Speaker, section 124 of the Children's Act states:
In criminal proceedings a person must be found unsuitable to work with children on conviction of murder, attempted murder, rape, indecent assault and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm with regard to a child.
It is quite clear that the intention of the Children's Act is to ensure automatic findings of unsuitability and immediate placement on the Child Protection Register. This is not happening.
Minister, you and your department continue to fail our children by ensuring that all those guilty of these heinous crimes do not appear on the Child Protection Register. That is why we have fewer than 500 names on the list. Can you explain to this House why this is the case? Thank you. [Applause.]
Speaker, I believe that we are doing our best to tackle the issues of children. [Interjections.] Secondly - you had your opportunity to respond to questions, hon member - the protection of children is not about having laws and laws and laws. It's about ensuring that communities take care of children. It is not only the responsibility of government to look after children. [Interjections.]
Order, Hon members, order!
Thirdly, what we are trying to do is to link up the issues of the Child Protection Register and the register that is with the Department of Justice, because that is where the problem is.
Hon Waters, perhaps you must tell us who you want to be put on the register because we have been following all the laws. We have done research and that is why the government took the decision to have Part A and Part B. We are very careful, because in other countries, they would put people on these registers and people would sue the state. Therefore, we need to be careful and not negligent, and not paint people with a black brush when they have not committed a crime. [Interjections.]
Hon Speaker, on a point of order: With respect, the Minister is not answering the supplementary question. She is engaging in debate. Please ask her to answer the supplementary question about the 500 children.
The Speaker, of course, can't dictate how a Minister answers questions. [Interjections.] Order, hon members!
Speaker, Madam Minister, I'm given to understand that once a name is placed on this register, the public can have access to this by writing to the director-general. That information must be provided within 21 days to whoever makes the enquiry.
Now, I have a case of an organisation in Pietermaritzburg, a child welfare organisation, that wanted to employ a person in their organisation that would deal with children. However, it took up to 18 months for them to get a response on whether that person that they wanted to employ was on that register or not. I understand that the timeframes have been reduced, but it's still three to six months. Now, Madam Minister, I wonder whether you could look into these cases where the director-general is required to give a response within 21 days, to see to it that that is done, because people need to be employed in the sector that deals with children and they need to get answers as quickly as possible. Thank you.
Speaker, hon member Singh, I think it is possible for us to improve on our work because this has to do with administrative justice. The government is just about that and is about protecting the rights of the children, especially the girl-child. Fortunately, we work very closely with the Child and Family Welfare Society. We actually fund a quota or half of the activities of the Child and Family Welfare Society. We will have to find out why their issue took so long.
However, I also want to say that there have been a number of applications. More than 28 000 have come to the department. We work with all the provinces, because information has to come from the province to the national office. The Western Cape is not innocent in this whole thing. They are also involved in not submitting the names at the right time.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Hon Minister, your attempts are not good enough.
Hear! Hear!
It is very clear that you try very hard, but it's not good enough. Section 124 of the Children's Act is very clear about the people who are not supposed to be allowed to work with children. However, the problem is that your department relies on other departments to ensure that the people are put on this register. The other problem is that we've got a very weak child protection system and therefore it becomes very difficult for anybody to take your government seriously when it says it is serious about fighting child abuse and crimes against children. Can you convince us - because your answer has not yet convinced us - about why this Act is not being implemented when it is supposed to have been implemented?
Hear! Hear!
Mr Speaker, I think the hon member feels better if he repeats exactly what I said. I've said that we have to improve our systems. There must be a link between the Department of Justice systems and the Department of Social Development systems. That is what we are presently doing. There is no government in South Africa that has prioritised the rights of children except for the ANC-led government. [Interjections.] So, it is not going to help anyone if we come here and pose when we are not doing the work for our children on the ground.
Right now, we are faced with many abuses and problems that are related to children. Members of Parliament are all supposed to be bringing up issues about children and we come here and we grandstand. That is not going to help us. You represent your constituencies and you don't raise the issues of children that live in your areas. Thank you, Mr Speaker. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Order! Order, hon members! [Interjections.] All right, we have space for the fourth supplementary question because one person pressed the button by mistake. [Interjections.] Hon members, let me repeat what I said when I started. Members may press the to-talk button on their desk if they wish to ask a supplementary question. If you don't want to ask a supplementary question, don't press the button! [Interjections.]
Speaker, may I have the last follow-up question?
Yes, yes, please, hon member.
Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, I'm actually dismayed at the Minister's reply. To say that laws don't protect children makes a mockery of this institution. What are we doing here, then? I think the Minister has been caught, he has been found wanting with regard to the Child Protection Register. Can the Minister explain why someone convicted in a court of law for the murder of a child does not automatically appear on the Child Protection Register? Can she explain why someone convicted in court of a rape of a child does not appear automatically on the Child Protection Register? Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon member, these are the laws that were passed by all of us. Our responsibility as Parliament is to amend the Children's Act. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members, order!
That is what I said. We are looking into it, as the Department of Social Development as well as the Department of Justice. Thank you. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members, order!
Minister's intentions regarding role of Central Drug Administration
70. Mrs Y R Botha (ANC) asked the Minister of Social Development:
In light of substance abuse, especially the abuse of alcohol and drugs like Tik, which is destroying our youth, how does she intend to ensure that the new Central Drug Administration (CDA) board plays a more meaningful role in awareness, prevention and treatment?