The brutal death of five-year old Kaithlyn Wilson in Riebeek West last week is regrettable, heart-breaking and shocking and serve as a clear wake-up call to all people of the Western Cape.
Bringing the body-count of girl-children who were killed in the province since the start of the year by men who were known to them to 25, the ANC in the Western Cape is justifiably concerned and outraged as the murder of particularly girl-children in the province have now exceeded crisis proportions.
As communities and families, we can no longer pretend that the care and protection of children is the sole responsibility of only the families from which they come, but it is obvious that a more comprehensive child protection strategy is required.
This strategy should include early detection of abuse and neglect, reporting it to the necessary authorities and enabling those authorities to respond in the fastest possible time with the most appropriate interventions required by the particular situation.
Unfortunately, this comprehensive yet necessary strategy does not exist in the province and the drastic increase in the murders of children can be directly attributed to this.
Towards this end, the ANC proposes the following five steps and actions deemed necessary to create a safer and more secure Western Cape for all children:
APPOINTMENT OF THE PROVINCIAL COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN
Noting that the Premier of the Western Cape has failed for the last eight years to meet her constitutional obligation, we have acquired the services of a senior counsel who will interdict the Premier of the Western Cape to, in line with Section 78 of the Western Cape Constitution, 1997, appoint the Provincial Commissioner for Children who, according to the Western Cape Constitution, “must assist the Western Cape government in protecting and promoting the interest of children in the Western Cape…”
Also, a complaint has been laid with the Public Protector two months ago, seeking remedial action to appoint of the Provincial Commissioner for Children.
Our patience has been exhausted and it is now abundantly clear that the Premier has no interest in appointing this much-needed Commissioner for Children while Premier Zille promised to appoint a Children’s Commissioner in 2009 when she was elected. She broke that promise.
Then in 2015, she introduced a bill seeking to make the appointment of the commissioner discretionary but that was rejected in all public hearings.
For these reasons, we have no other choice but to force the Premier, through the courts, to meet her constitutional obligations to the children and people of the Western Cape.
COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO CHILD MURDERS
The ANC agrees with the call by organisations that work in the child protection sectors for the appointment of a commission of inquiry into child murders in the Western Cape.
To understand the real reasons why the children in the Western Cape are more vulnerable, investigate government shortcomings and exploring concrete ways to enhance their protection, we are convinced that it is only a commission of inquiry, to be appointed by the Premier, in line with Section 37(2)(e) of the Constitution of the Western Cape, that would shed some light on our particular circumstances and provide much-needed solutions.
IMPROVE POLICE-TO-POPULATION RATIO
Noting that the national average police-to-population ratio is around 1:358 and that in some areas, particularly in the City of Cape Town, the ratio is much higher, we are of the opinion that an improvement in these ratio’s would also contribute to a safer Western Cape.
Towards this end, we hope to meet the police authorities soon in the hope that these worrying ratio’s be improved.
BRING BACK BAMBANANI
The most recent crime statistics reveal that since 2009, murder increased on average annually at around 6.1%, attempted murder at 13.6%, assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm increased at 1.1%, common assault at 3.2%, common robbery at 5%, robbery with aggravating circumstances at 11.6%, arson at 5.1% and malicious damage to property at 3.4%.
When these statistics are compared to the period when the Bambanani programme was in place, one would notice that during this period, contact crime was at its lowest.
It is for this reason that the ANC calls on the provincial government to bring back the Bambanani-programme as the current community safety plans have proved to be ineffective.
CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT
The ANC applauds the work already done by so many community organisations in the Western Cape and will, during the next few weeks, engage extensively with these community organisations, faith-based organisations, NGO’s and other child rights and child protection organisations to look at constructive ways on how communities can contribute to the creation of a safer Western Cape where our children can live, work, play and grow in a secure environment.
The carnage of our children is beyond politics and politicians and it requires the activism of all communities, community organisations and civil society. While politicians have a role to play in creating safer and more secure communities, we need to tap into the collective experiences of all those who are working to advance the protection and security of children.
We will also soon launch a “Play Your Part”-campaign to promote practical actions that individuals, organisations and communities can take to create safer and more secure communities that our children need to grow into individuals who reach their full potential.
The ANC is acutely aware that these five interventions are small steps in our campaign to create a more caring society that takes a keen interest in the safety of children but we need all hands on deck and the ANC is determined to lead this campaign to make this possible.
We are of the opinion that the time to bring an end to the murders of children is now and that all citizens and communities have a role to play in this campaign.
We call on all to become actively involved in the protection of children and to do their crucial bit to ensure a safer and more secure Western Cape for our children.
* Faiez Jacobs is the Provincial Secretary of the ANC in the Western Cape.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.