ATC130509: Report of the Select Committee on Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities on the Oversight visit to the Khuti Home Care and Development Centre and the Siyazama Centre 23 May 2012 dated 24 April 2013.

REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ON THE OVERSIGHT VISIT TO THE KHUTI HOME CARE AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE AND THE SIYAZAMA CENTRE 23 MAY 2012 DATED 24 APRIL 2013.

1. Background to visit:

The Committee, as mandated by the Constitution and the Rules of the National Council of Provinces, undertook the oversight visit. The oversight visit was undertaken in terms of the strategic priorities of the NCOP as they relate to the following objective:

· Objective Four: Oversee related initiatives and overseeing the implementation of programmes aimed at assisting socially vulnerable groups

The oversight visit was further informed by the Committee’s five year strategic plan as well as resolutions undertaken as lessons learnt from its 2011 study tour to the USA as it relates to the institutionalisation of children with disabilities.

The aim of the oversight visit was therefore as follows:

The Committee will be conducting oversight of organisations providing services to persons with disabilities and will be able to investigate the support provided by government departments to organisations providing services to persons with disabilities., which will enable the Committee to make sound recommendations to the National and Provincial Departments of Health and Social Development on services as they relate to people with disabilities.

2. Delegation

Hon. B.P. Mabe (ANC); Hon D.A. Worth (DA) ; Mahdiyah Solomons (Committee Secretary), Tasneem Matthews (Researcher) and Nomtha Zixesha (Personal Assistant to Committee Chairperson)

3. Khuti Home Care Centre Khayelitsha :

The Khuti Home Care and Development Centre is a 24 hour centre for children with mental and physical disabilities based in Khayalitsha . The Centre is currently unfunded by any government department as it lacks registration. However, the Centre still receives referrals of children from the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Development. In this regard it receives R150 subsidy from this department every three months for children referred. The facility is primarily self funded from fees paid by parents at a monthly rate of R700 per month.

The facility currently has the following features:

· It is currently housed in a well established container facility without electricity, which it receives illegally from a neighbouring house.

· It has one classroom that houses all children and activities, this classroom is reasonable however does not have sufficient ventilation

· The container within which the facility is housed is not owned by Khuti Home Care and Development and is rented from the local Presbyterian Church

· There are currently no facilities for staff who sleep on the floor and maintain this facility as a 24hr facility

· In respect of security, the facility is surrounded by a single perimeter fence which does not provide adequate security

· The facility is further maintained by 5 staff members who tend to 11 students

The Khuti Home Care and Development Centre are currently in need of the following:

· An adequate piece of land on which to establish a permanent structure

· Transport for disabled students

· Funding

· Food

· Nappies

· Further training from the Western Cape Provincial Department of Education

· Electricity

· Office equipment

· Assistance from the Western Cape Provincial Departments of Health and Social Development as a child care facility

4. Siyazama Centre for disabled children Gugulethu:

The Siyazama Centre for disabled children is a facility that caters for physically, mentally and blind children and youths. This centre is currently housed in a permanent facility that it rents from Vukuhambe Building . The Centre currently accommodates 53 children and is supported by 8 members of staff. In respect of funding the Centre receives funding through fees (R700 per month) paid by parents. It further receives funding from the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Development in respect of its workshop programme through which educational programmes are facilitated. The parents also partake in training programmes facilitated by the Centre.

This Centre was previously funded and registered with the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health; however it’s registration as a Special Care Facility and funding was revoked in 2011 due to the following issues:

• Financial mismanagement at the Centre
• Poorly maintained and unhygienic buildings and structural damage
• Exposed barbed wire at child’s height, improperly maintained path and jungle gym all of which is extremely dangerous to children
• In respect of food preparation the facility was found to be inadequate and unhygienic

As a result of the issues raised, the 53 students housed at Siyazama were relocated to an alternative facility in 2011. In the interim, the Centre continued to operate and now receives funding from the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Development in respect of the workshop training programme. The Western Cape Provincial Department of Health has not re-registered the facility as a Special Needs Facility nor has it had any involvement with the Centre since the removal of children in 2011.

Challenges are experienced by Siyazama in respect of the following:

• Non-payment of some parents
• Transport for disabled children

The Committee therefore makes the following recommendations:

• To request the Western Cape Provincial Department of Public Works and the City of Cape Town to assist Khuti Home Care and Development in identifying and securing a vacant piece of land on which to build a permanent facility; and

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• To request the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Development to assist Khuti Home Care in addressing some of the challenges they face in respect of funding and registration as a child-care facility.

5. Conclusion

The Committee noted the challenges experienced by both centres in relation to delivering a quality service to their clients and commended the centres for the outstanding work they had done in improving the lives of children with disabilities.

Report to be considered.