Child care workers and parents from Grahamstown and surrounding areas demonstrated last Friday outside the District offices of the Department of Social Development over the payment of quarterly subsidies to early childhood development (ECD) centres.
Child care workers and parents from Grahamstown and surrounding areas demonstrated last Friday outside the District offices of the Department of Social Development over the payment of quarterly subsidies to early childhood development (ECD) centres.
Around 60 people, mostly women, gathered outside the African Street premises of the Department, singing as they waited for a response to a petition and list of grievances handed to District Manager Malusi Kashe.
The protesters were members of the Ndlambe and Makana ECD Forums. They represented 24 preschools from Ndlambe and according to the estimate of one of the protest co-ordinators, around 20 in Makana.
Secretary of the Ndlambe ECD Forum Thandi Kolele told Grocott’s Mail that children are subsidised by the Department at the rate of R15 per child per weekday while the preschools are in session.
However, the last time the subsidy had been paid was on 8 December 2016, she said.
“Subsidies are paid quarterly instead of monthly, and that means we have gone for three months without,” Kolele said.
“They say their first priority is the children, but how can that be when we don’t have funds to feed the children?”
Kolele said preschools in Port Alfred (9), Bathurst (5), Alexandria (5), Marselle (2), Kenton (3) and around 20 in Grahamstown were affected.
“It depends on the school, but each school might have between 50 and 90 children,” Kolele said.
Their list of grievances and demands included:
• That the system of quarterly payment of subsidies should stop and payments should be made monthly;
• That underpayment of subsidies should stop and the Forum members should be notified of any delays;
• That the department should respect them.
“Nurture and care for our submitted documents, so that you don’t lose them and we do the same work over,” the protesters demanded.
They also said they wanted to be part of decision-making and that they should be given a few days’ notice before they were required to submit documentation.
“Stop threatening us about non-payment if we don’t submit,” the petition read.
“Why are we being paid money from the 2016/17 financial year in the 2017/18 financial year?” they asked.
In their petition they asked for a full response within 14 working days.
Following a meeting inside with representatives of the group, Kashe then addressed the group outside the building.
He told them he was not going to try and defend the Department or himself by responding at the time.
He said he was taking their grievances seriously and would investigate and consult with the Department’s provincial office.
He agreed to meet their delegation in Port Alfred on 11 April, and to follow that up with monthly meetings until the other grievances were resolved.
In an interview with Grocott’s Mail afterwards, Kashe explained that a decision had been taken by the Department three years ago to pay the subsidy quarterly instead of monthly
“For this quarter, payment is at the end of March,” he said. “They say the Department should pay the subsidy monthly.”
The group left soon after their meeting with Kashe.
