Durban - Just over two years ago, eight children died in a fire that destroyed a cottage at the Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre in Durban.
Now it has emerged that the centre was a “death trap” waiting for a disaster to happen.
A report tabled at the KwaZulu-Natal social development portfolio committee sitting at the legislature revealed that the facility had only fully met two compliance standards out of 30.
After the fire on July 14, 2016, the department appointed a task team to investigate the fire and assess the centre in terms of its compliance with the national norms and standards set out in the Children’s Act No38 of 2005.
Minenhle Ngcobo, 21, Sibongiseni Nxumalo, 18, John Shusha, 17, Sfundo Ndlovu, 17, Gabriel Mbambo, 11, Ajesh Gangerpasad, 9, Sandile Duma, 8, and Fikisani Chala, 8, died in the fire, which broke out after 1 am.
The boys had been asleep in a cottage at the centre in Sea Cow Lake when the fire started. Some were said to have died in their beds.
The task team found the centre was partially compliant with 17 standards, non-compliant with 11, and compliant with two.
It was found that the centre kept children for more than six months, against regulations, that there had been incidents of children playing with fire and of bullying, and drug abuse was also reported.
Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi’s spokesperson, Ncumisa Ndelu, said the department was assembling a team of seasoned social workers to visit the affected families and take them through the findings of the investigation.
She said this would be done in a way that would minimise their pain. “The Lakehaven management was called and taken through the report. They were instructed to come up with a turnaround strategy, which they will have to share with the department,” Ndelu said.
Firdose Moola, the interim executive director of Child Welfare Durban and District, which plays an oversight role over Lakehaven, said since the fire, her organisation had implemented strategic measures in ensuring the safety and well-being of staff and young people at the facility.
“We have already achieved our turnaround time with regards to compliance. Going forward, we will continue to implement internal audits to ensure safety and services are fully compliant and maintained,” she said.
DA MPL Sharon Hoosen said the report was “very concerning”. She wondered whether it was safe for children to still be living in a centre that was only 2% fully compliant.
“How can a centre that houses vulnerable children, who come from highly abusive, emotional or even orphaned backgrounds, not be fully compliant? Instead of creating a safer environment for the children, the department is sending children to possibly another death trap,” she said.
Hoosen said the report was “an absolute” embarrassment and an indication of Thusi’s lack of competence.
“The report has yet to reveal how the fire started, what has been done to fix the non-compliance and what were the non-compliances,” she said.
She said that the poor performance of some social workers could not be used as an excuse, and Thusi should take firmer action when it came to monitoring and controlling the functioning of her department. Hoosen called for all non-compliant child and youth centres to be investigated.