A children’s home on the South Coast is surviving on donations because, the owners allege, it is owed more than R1 million by the provincial government.
And now the Mother of Peace, Illovo, Building Families, Building a Nation – home to about 75 abandoned, abused and orphaned children deemed to be in need of institutional care by the courts – has been forced to go to court in an attempt to get the “place of safety” fees it is owed, some for as long as eight years.
The home has brought the application against the MEC for social welfare and has also cited the premier, whose office placed four of the children and two local child welfare societies as interested parties.
While it had been set down to be heard in the Pietermaritzburg High Court next week, the MEC has filed a notice of opposition and it will have to be adjourned to give time for further filing of affidavits.
In the meantime, home director Gavin Gradwell said that as at the end of February this year, the home was owed just more than R1 million – and the bill was rising every month.
“It is extremely desperate. Salaries have not been paid,” Gradwell said.
“And we have had to stop some upgrade projects just to buy food for the kids. We are looking at possibly retrenching staff,” he said.
In his affidavit filed with the court, Gradwell said the home had been running since 2003 from a property once owned by Illovo Sugar Ltd, bought by Operation Jumpstart, an organisation linked to the old KZN Lotto.
He said there were 13 cottages on the property that housed about six children each in an environment “conducive to family living”.
About 40 staff members, with the assistance of overseas volunteers, helped care for the children.
Gradwell said the home was struggling to survive because the department of social development had not been paying the fees it was entitled to in terms of orders issued in respect of each child in the children’s court.
“Over the years I have made arrangements to meet with various officials at the department to discuss this,” he said.
“In many instances, the meetings were cancelled or postponed at the last minute.
“Some meetings did take place. I had a meeting once with the previous MEC Meshack Radebe and also the head of the Durban regional office.
“All these meetings seemed to yield positive results, with promises that the issue would be sorted out and that we would be paid,” he said.
A schedule prepared by Gradwell for the department showed that in some instances, fees were owing from 2004.
He said in order to avoid |expensive litigation and resolve the situation amicably, he had submitted the schedule and invited the department to scrutinise all documentation.
But while there were promises that it was being dealt with as a “ priority” , it now |appeared that the department was just using delaying tactics.
The department should pay all of the legal costs of the application, he said.
“Every cent available to us is essential for caring for the needs of the children. The home is most certainly not in a position to spend any amount on legal expenses. The office of the MEC has been less than diligent in its functions,” he said.
The MEC is expected to file his papers before the end of the month.
