Cape Town - A Khayelitsha foster mother is incensed with the Department of Social Development for allegedly refusing to pay for the burial of a sick child who was left in her care, leaving her with a hefty bill from the undertakers.
Bongeka Dakana, from Makhaza, said she’s been struggling to get the money after the toddler, who she has looked after since the child was a week-old and on ARV medication, died last Wednesday.
Dakana said she now had to contend with the undertaker’s continual demands for his money after social workers had kept mum.
“On Wednesday, when the toddler died in the morning just after 9am, it took the whole day for the department to organise an undertaker, who arrived to collect the body after 6pm.
“When the social workers were called on the day, they arrived – only to leave indicating that they were tracing the child’s biological family. Only after more than five hours and after forensics personnel indicated that they would not be able to remove the body, we pressured them about the collection of the body and they said I must now use my own undertaker. However, when this was done, the procedure was not explained to the undertaker,” said Dakana.
Another foster mother, Noxolo Kibudu, said this was extreme incompetence from the department that the foster mothers had to endure – from the moment the children were placed in their care.
“We have endured this exploitation and abuse by these Khayelitsha social workers for some time and we now want to engage with the MEC of Social Development and the minister, not only about this – but also about other issues that we have brought to the forefront, but have been ignored by our local officials,” she said.
Department of Social Development spokesperson Esther Lewis said it was the biological family’s responsibility to arrange and pay for funeral arrangements. However, she said in instances where the biological family was untraceable, or destitute, the department may provide financial assistance for the basics of the burial.
“All financial assistance given by the department is subject to requirements of the Public Finance Management Act. This includes the submission of certified identity documents, stamped bank statements, and proof that the family cannot afford the burial. No payments can be processed without all of these documents in place. In this case, these documents were only submitted this past weekend,” she said.
Lewis said the processing of the payment had started and the department had set dates for payment runs, and the undertaker was made aware of the requirements and dates, which she said he agreed to before proceeding with the burial.