Baby dies after being rescued from pit toilet - DA calls for revised government intervention

30 May 2023

The DA calls on KZN Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza to foster closer working relationships between her department and NGO’s in the province, including baby drop off centres and related facilities.

The appeal comes after a new born baby died a day after being rescued from a pit toilet at the Sacca informal settlement in Pietermaritzburg. This as Child Protection Month in the country draws to a close.

The DA is deeply disturbed by this horrific incident. It begs the question: Why are women still abandoning their babies when there are facilities such as clinics, social workers and police stations to assist them if they are not coping?

The high prevalence of baby and child abandonment in KZN shows that current government interventions are not effective.

In order to establish the reasons behind the high abandonment levels, the MEC and her department need to go out into communities and find answers. This must include research through outreach programmes – particularly in areas where abandonment levels are worse.

The MEC and her department also need to capacitate NGO’s when it comes to this scourge. It is these organisations that are on the ground, day in and day out and who know what the real issues are within our communities. They must be assisted and this includes reducing the amount of red tape when it comes to providing care for abandoned children.

MEC Khoza and her department need to play a far more proactive role in helping KZN’s most vulnerable people. The DA will continue to hold this ANC-run government accountable for helping those in distress. More must be done.

Issued by Mmabatho Tembe, DA KZN Spokesperson on Social Development, 30 May 2023