Official reply: 7 November 2011
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION 2891
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Date of publication on internal question paper: 23 September 2011
Internal question paper no: 30
Mrs S P Kopane (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:
(1) (a) What is the process that has to take place for a personâs name to
appear on the child protection register, (b) how long does the process
take, (c) what are the requirements for a person to be (i) placed on
this register and (ii) deemed unsuitable to work with children and (d)
how many names are currently on this register;
(2) (a) which organisations are legally required to screen their
employees through this register (b) what amount has to be paid by an
organisation to screen its employee through this register and (c) how
long does the screening process take;
(3) whether schools are required to screen their teachers through this
register; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) (a) what is the backlog of employees being screened according to the
register, (b) how many employees have been (i) screened and (ii) deemed
unsuitable to work with children, (c) what was spend on this register
(i) in the (aa) 2009-10 and (bb) 2010-11 financial years and (ii) from
1 April 2011 up to the latest specified date for which information is
available and (d) how was the money spent?
NW3362E
REPLY:
1) (a) The process that has to take place for a personâs name to appear
on the National Child Protection Register (Register) is done by making
a finding of a person unsuitable to work with children, in terms of
section 120 (1) of the Childrenâs Act (No. 38 of 2005) by:
â (a) a childrenâs court;
(b) any other court in any criminal or civil proceedings in
which that person is involved; or
(c) any forum established or recognised by law in any
disciplinary proceedings concerning the conduct of that
person relating to a child. â
The registrar of the relevant court, or the relevant administrative
forum, must notify the Director-General in writing, within 21
working days of a finding that a person is unsuitable to work with
children.
In the event that a relevant administrative forum has no official
or staff member acting in the capacity of a registrar or a clerk of
the court, the person responsible for convening the meeting or
hearing of the administrative forum where the finding of the
unsuitability of a person to work with children was made, must
notify the Director-General of the finding as contemplated in
section 122 of the Act and Regulation 42.
The Director-General must enter the name of a person in Part B of
the Register immediately on receiving the notification that a
person has been found unsuitable to work with children regardless
of whether appeal proceedings have been instituted or not. The
Director-General will inform the affected person, within 21 working
days that his/her name has been entered onto the Register.
(b) In terms of Regulation 44 (4) of the Childrenâs Act, the
Director- General must notify the affected person in writing within
21 working days of such entry.
(c) (i) The requirements for a person to be placed on the Register
are:
Any person who has abused a child can be found unsuitable to work
with children in any disciplinary proceedings concerning the
conduct of that person relating to the child. This can include:
⢠Any sexual abuse (molesting; grooming; rape; pornography etc.);
⢠Physical abuse (corporal punishment; burning; cuts; bruises; fractures
etc); and
⢠Emotional abuse (corruption through exposure to illegal activities;
self destruction behaviour; exposure to violence; deprivation of
affection; rejection etc) against such a child. The finding on guilty
or innocent is not dependent upon a finding in a criminal court.
In the case of a criminal procedure a person must be found
unsuitable to work with children when they are convicted of murder,
attempted murder, rape, indecent assault or assault with the intent
to do grievous bodily harm with regard to a child. The court must
make such a ruling as part of the sentencing of such a person.
In terms of persons who has been convicted of murder, attempted
murder, rape, indecent assault or assault with the intent to do
grievous bodily harm with regard to a child during the five years
preceding the commencement of the Childrenâs Act, is deemed to have
been found unsuitable to work with children. The data must still
be provided by the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development to DSD.
(c) (ii) Persons deemed unsuitable to work with children is
explained above.
(d) 22 names are currently on the Register.
2) (a) All organisations and designated child protection organisations
providing services to children are legally required to screen their
employees through the Register.
The Act also prescribes that other organs of state must comply with
these requirements, namely:
⢠The South African Police Service may not allow a person who
works in a unit of the Service tasked with child
protection;
⢠the Municipal council of a municipality, for a person in a
position where that person works with or has access to
children; or
⢠the Head of a State Department may not allow a person whose
name appears in Part B of the Register to be employed in a
position where that person works with or has access to
children.
(b) No payment is required for an organisation to screen its
employee through the Register.
(c) The screening of an application must be completed within 21
working days.
(3) Yes, schools are required to screen their teachers through the
Register as prescribed, in terms of section 123 (1) (a) of the
Act.
(4) (a) The backlog of employees that need to be screened according to
the Register is 11 446,
(b) (i) 3 672 employees have been screened,
(b) (ii) None of the screened employees were deemed unsuitable
to work with children due to lack of historical data as stated
in the response given in question 1 (c) (i), paragraph 3.
(c) (i) (aa) and (bb) and (ii): The following budget was
received from the IJS. The money was provided for the
development of the integrated systems with Departments of Home
Affairs, South African Police Service, Correctional services and
Justice and Constitutional Development.
|Year | 2009/2010 | 2010/2011 |April 2011 to |
| | | |date |
|Budget |R1, 628,000 |R1, 725, 849 |R99, 818,00 |
(d) the money was spent as follows:
|Activity | 2009/2010 | 2010/2011 |April 2011 to |
| | | |date |
|Capacity Building |R777.40 |R82,942.29 |R5 745.00 |
|in provinces | | | |
|Equipment |- |R 52,415.85 |R700, 000 |
| | | |In process of |
| | | |procuring |
| | | |laptops, photo |
| | | |copier, |
| | | |printers/scanner|
| | | |s) |
|Project Management |R1, 679, 526.65 |R41,013, 548 |R94 073. 32 |
|Office â | | | |
|Compensation | | | |
|Project Manager | | | |
|Project | | | |
|Administrator | | | |
|System Developers | | | |
|(2) | | | |
|Analysts (2) | | | |
| |6 contract |4 contract |3 contract |
| |persons |persons. |persons. |
| | |2 persons |1 contract |
| | |resign from |system developer|
| | |the project |since June 2011 |
|Key deliverables: |Part A: Phase1: |Conversion |Full conversion |
| |Online |from web CPR |of Part A and |
| |notification by |to SDIMS. |Part B of the |
| |the public and |Conversion |CPR from PORTICO|
| |persons mandated |done (25%) |to DotNet |
| |to report cases. | |including Online|
| | |Sustain Part A|Notifications |
| |Development of |of the CPR | |
| |Part B. |with provinces|Maintenance of |
| | |by addressing |the CPR. |
| |Provincial |capturing | |
| |training in eight|problems |Awareness |
| |provinces |experienced by|raising within |
| | |users |provinces |
| | | | |
| | |Visits to 9 | |
| | |province to | |
| | |assist with | |
| | |the | |
| | |implementation| |
| | |of the CPR. | |
| | | | |
| | |4 Provinces re| |
| | |-trained on | |
| | |the system | |
End.
Source: National Department of Social Development
Branch: Welfare Services