The FF Plus will fight the Gauteng government’s deadly plan to take over all child foster care cases in four months’ time tooth and nail.
According to a report published in Rapport on 19 November, child protection organisations will from 1 April 2024 no longer receive financial aid for child foster care cases from the Gauteng government.
The Gauteng government proved with the Life Esidimeni tragedy that it is utterly unable to care for minors and people with disabilities.
The FF Plus will send a petition to the Department of Social Development, requesting that the plan be abandoned, and should the request be ignored, the party will lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC).
The party will also assist child protection organisations with assembling a legal team and with fund-raising to make litigation possible.
Clearly, these cutbacks are a repetition of an attempt by the Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, to reduce charity organisations’ funding earlier this year.
These funds are then channelled to his own self-serving election programmes, such as appointing peace wardens, procuring drones and manufacturing panic buttons.
These projects are nothing but election gimmicks that do not address the underlying structural problems in the province, such as unemployment.
The decision to take over child foster care cases once again serves as proof of Lesufi’s ambition for centralisation under the state, where the latter determines who qualifies for aid and who does not.
Amid the ineptitude of both Lesufi’s provincial government and especially the Social Development Department, the state will now decide who lives and who dies.
All while the Gauteng government lacks the professional social care training, managerial skills, empathy and love needed to properly care for minors.
This applies to the care of people with disabilities as well.
The FF Plus will oppose this inhumane decision in every possible way, as it will be much worse than the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
The only way to save Gauteng and its vulnerable residents is to register and vote to get rid of the ANC and replace it with a competent and accountable coalition government, with the FF Plus as a governing partner.
Together, we can repair and rebuild Gauteng.
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