1. (a) Yes, baby savers are illegal as they constitute a criminal offence in terms of the Children’s Act (Act No. 38 of 2005). Baby savers are regarded as an act of child abandonment and neglect as per the provision of Section 110 of the Children’s Act.
(b) Organisations that promote the use of the so-called baby savers contravenes the Children’s Act, which is the principal law in terms of the promotion and protection of children’s rights.
2. The issue of baby savers should not be seen in isolation from all other important issues aimed at strengthening child protection measures that were considered during the public hearings on the Children’s Amendment Bill. The Act makes provision for alternative care for children in need of care and support, and baby savers are currently one of those.
3. The Gauteng Provincial Department of Social Development bound by the same Act—the Children’s Act, according to which baby savers are a form of child abandonment and neglect.