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Richard Nkosi
Gogo LaShabangu* of Emjindini cares for her two grandchildren Nokuthula* (17) and Thabo* (11) since their parents passed away. The Umjindi sub-district Department of Social Development field and social workers assisted her in 2008 in obtaining a foster care court order for the children for two years.After this she applied and received a foster court order for the children for two years.After this, she applied and received a foster care grant, which was R710 monthly, for each of her grandchildren.
Earlier this year, their grant was terminated because the field and social workers at the department allegedly did not do their jobs to extend their foster care order in terms of the Children’s Act.
As a result the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), which had been paying grants to the children’s foster parent, stopped doing so.
Now LaShabangu relies solely on her social pension grant of R1 080 to support her two grandchildren and her unemployed daughter.This is but one case, there are more than 100 other desperate orphaned and abandoned children in Emjindini who are denied foster-care grants because the department of social services allowed their foster-care orders to expire.
Almost all the foster families, and the children they care for, live in poverty, and without the monthly grant many are battling to make ends meet or care properly for the children.
LaShabangu said she has been send from pillar to post by the Umjindi sub-district department.“I have submitted all the required documents they requested, but still there is no help forthcoming. Life is tough for me and my grandchildren without their grants. I had even cancelled my funeral policy in order to save money to feed my grandchildren. Now I spend sleepless night thinking who will bury me should I or they die tomorrow,” she said.“The social workers was here a month ago, took the children’s birth certificates, letters of confirmation for school attendance signed by their principals and my ID document. They said they will come back but up to date I’m still waiting for them to return”. Elphus Makhubela, chairman of the Light of the World Day Care Centre, an organisation looking after children’s rights, said they were surprised when they went to the Umjindi sub-district social development offices and allegedly found a heap of incomplete foster care orders that need to be extended. “We were told that there is a backlog but were given no reason as to what caused it,” he said.
Senzeni Ngubeni, spokesman for SASSA, the agency which is under the department of social development and mandated to ensure the provision of a comprehensive social security service to curb poverty, said they were only responsible for the last leg of the process.
“The field and social workers should have not allowed the court order to lapse. They should have visited the homes, submitted their reports and applied for a new court order in order to reapply for a foster-care grant from us,” he said.
Mpho Gabashane, Department of Health spokesman said they were aware that there was a problem in terms of the extension of the foster care grant. “We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the department to the affected families and promise that the matter will be given attention soon and the families will be repaid in arrears as soon the matter is sorted out”.*Names were changed to protect the children.
 Nokuthula, who is starving because the social workers failed to extend her court order in time |
