PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE CONDUCTS OVERSIGHT VISIT TO RUSTENBURG CHILD AND YOUTH CARE CENTRE

The North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development conducted an oversight visit to the Rustenburg Child and Youth Care Centre in Boitekong, Rustenburg, as part of its Oversight Week programme aimed at monitoring the delivery of social development services to children and young people in conflict with the law.

The oversight delegation was led by the Chief Whip Hon. Motlalepula Rosho.
During the visit, the Committee received a presentation from the Operations Manager, Ms Mirriam Kgafela, who briefed Members on the operations, programmes and challenges facing the facility. She told the Committee that the centre, which was officially opened in 2011, accommodates children between the ages of 14 and 18 years who are awaiting trial, participating in diversion programmes or serving sentences in terms of the Child Justice Act.
The facility has a capacity to accommodate 70 children and currently houses 32 beneficiaries.

The Committee welcomed the comprehensive range of services provided by the centre, including social work interventions, healthcare, educational and vocational programmes, therapeutic support, life skills development and child and youth care services aimed at rehabilitating and reintegrating young people into society.
The Committee was further briefed on challenges affecting the facility, including critical staff vacancies, delays in the registration of the education unit, limited accredited vocational training opportunities, infrastructure maintenance needs and the need to strengthen security infrastructure.

The Department informed the Committee of measures being implemented to address these challenges through the filling of critical posts, enhanced collaboration with relevant stakeholders and improved infrastructure planning.

The Committee commended the management and staff of the centre for their unwavering commitment to rehabilitating and supporting children in conflict with the law.
Hon. Motlalepula Rosho expressed appreciation for the dedication shown by officials in helping to shape the lives of the children entrusted to their care, noting that they effectively assume a parental role while the children are at the facility, regardless of their backgrounds.

Hon. Rosho further encouraged the Department of Social Development to explore the Northern Cape model, where academic education at child and youth care centres is provided by the Department of Basic Education, allowing the Department of Social Development to focus on vocational training and rehabilitation programmes. She said such an approach could strengthen rehabilitation outcomes by enabling each department to focus on its core mandate.

During an interaction with the children accommodated at the centre, Hon. Rosho encouraged them to view their current circumstances as an opportunity for positive change.
She reminded them that, despite being in conflict with the law, they remain the future of South Africa and urged them to use the support and rehabilitation programmes available at the centre to build better futures for themselves and make meaningful contributions to their communities and the country.

The Portfolio Committee reaffirmed its commitment to exercising effective legislative oversight to ensure that child and youth care centres are adequately resourced to provide a safe, secure and rehabilitative environment that promotes the well-being and successful reintegration of children in conflict with the law.

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