Child rights activists have called for the removal of Western Cape Commissioner for Children Christina Nomdo and Department of Social Development (DSD) MEC Sharna Fernandez as children continued to become innocent targets in crossfire shootings and murders across the province.
They made the call as Child Protection Month got under way, placing the spotlight on children’s rights during May.
Child protection and anti-GBV activist Lucinda Evans said after Nomdo started her five-year tenure in office in 2020, they have no confidence in the office.
“The general safety of children has not been an issue which the commissioner has addressed since the inception of her position. At the end of the day, she has been mum on commenting regarding these type of issues. Is her silence due to her following a political agenda? We don’t know, but coming from an activist that was so vocal on children’s issues and children safety, it is an indictment to children of this country when she is (silent) on these very important issues.”
Similarly, Evans said Fernandez was a missing figure.
Anti-crime activist Zona Morton said she had probed Nomdo about four children killed recently in different shooting incidents, but was met with the response: “It is not the Commissioner’s standard practice to comment on individual cases”.
Contacted for comment, Nomdo said it was “deeply distressing that our country experiences regular child murders”.
“Regrettably, violence against children remains a daily occurrence in our province and nation and is a reflection of our society’s failure.
Front-line services, like the police and child protection system, are constantly called upon to respond to these acts of violence and safeguard children.
“However, the Commissioner is not the front-line service provider to address violence against children.
The front-line services, like the police and the child protection system at the DSD, must do their jobs well to respond when children are violated.
Activists should hold communities and front-line services to account to do the best they can,” said Nomdo.
Fernandez said as the rights of children come under the spotlight this month, it is the responsibility of parents and guardians to ensure the safety of children.
She said between April and December last year, the department recorded 2 603 cases of deliberate neglect, 2 801 cases of emotional and physical abuse and 2 415 cases of sexual abuse.
“It is unacceptable that we have parents, guardians and caregivers who callously ignore the rights of a child.
All children deserve love, care and protection. And government cannot do this alone. When children are failed by their parents or guardians, the whole society is needed to step in and support,” said Fernandez.
Further enquiries to Fernandez’s office were not answered by deadline on Wednesday.
Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said: “Violence poses enormous developmental challenges for communities and strong appeals ought to be made to government to help eradicate the scourge of violence that is holding our communities ransom, in which children suffer the most.”
Cape Times