Zuma admits that only over 400 names exist on Child Protection Register 

1 June 2016

President Zuma’s Child Protection Week announcement today that only over 400 names exist on the Child Protection Register reveals that government does not care about rooting out child abusers from society but also that South Africa’s children will have to endure more suffering because government does not care about protecting them from criminals despite sexual offences being recorded at 43,195  in the 2014/2015 financial year.

The DA will be writing to the Chairperson of the Social Development Committee, Ms B Ntuli, to table this matter at the top of its agenda and a plan to be tabled to address the protection of the children who are our future. 

Failing which, the DA will be left with no choice but to approach the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to probe whether this failure to diligently populate this protection register is in flagrant contravention of national legislation.

The Child Protection Register was established in 2010 as part of the Children’s Act. Section 120(4) of the Act requiring that when a person is convicted in criminal proceedings for murder, attempted murder, rape, indecent assault, or assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm they shall be disallowed from working with children.

Specifically, Parliament needs to know what the progress has been with the update of the Child Protection Register that remains largely unpopulated and in so doing threatens the safety of our children. 

At present a child goes missing in South Africa every 5 hours. It is a horrifying statistic, made worse by the fact that only 25% of missing children in this country are currently are ever found. Just this week in Limpopo, two 5 year old girls went missing and were found hanging in a tree, murdered. A 9 year old boy went missing and was found a couple of days later, brutally murdered. 

An ill-equipped police force, with no basic resources are unable to deal with these issues, let alone protect communities. Conviction rates on those arrested are alarmingly low in the courts, where cases like these take months and months to be dealt with.  

Children of South Africa are the future leaders of the country. However, their future remains bleak indeed. As such, on 03 August 2016, South Africans should vote for a DA that will put our children first. 

Issued by Lindy Wilson, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Social Development, 1 June 2016