Department of the Premier on appointment of the Western Cape Commissioner for Children

Meeting report

NOTE: PMG was not present at the meeting. The below is compiled based on the Committee’s official minutes.

The Chairperson opened the meeting and welcomed everyone present.

Briefing by the Department of the Premier on the appointment of the Western Cape Commissioner for Children

Ms Martinus, Director in the Department of the Premier, briefed the Committee on the appointment of the Western Cape Commissioner for Children. She informed the Committee that the Western Cape Commissioner for Children Act, No. 2 of 2019, which was assented to on 29 March 2019 by the Premier. The Act is now in operation but the Premier will be requested to issue a proclamation in this regard in order to give effect to the appointment of the Children’s Commissioner.

According to Ms Martinus, section 78-80 of the Constitution of the Western Cape, provides for the establishment and principles governing the Commissioner, powers and duties, appointment and removal of the Children’s Commissioner. She informed the Committee that the Act is administered by the Department of the Premier. The Western Cape Commissioner for Children Act, 2019 (Act 2 of 2019) is the first of its kind in SA and the first at a provincial level. The Act is also significant as it provides functional independence to the Children’s Commissioner while assisting the Western Cape government to protect the rights, needs and interests of children in the province.

According to the Department of the Premier, preliminary work and budget provision has been conducted to find the office space for the Commissioner for Children. The Department reported that the Department of Public Works was searching for the right office space suitable for the Commissioner for Children, a space that will be easily accessible and child-friendly and independent from government.

The Department reported that the total budget allocation to setup the office of the Commissioner for Children is R8 million and thereafter, R5 million will be allocated annually.

Discussion

The Committee deliberated on the presentation.

Resolutions

The Committee resolved that:

1. the notice in the media calling for nominations for the appointment of the Commissioner for Children should be advertised 14 days in three official languages of the Western Cape in community newspapers and three mainstream and one national newspaper

2. the newspapers identified to be utilised for the advertisements provincially should be Die Burger to place the advert in Afrikaans, City Vision for Xhosa and the Cape Times for English

3. the advert should be placed in community newspapers at all Western Cape districts to cover the rural areas

4. the advert should be sent to the institutions of higher learning and non-governmental organisations and municipalities in the province

5. all means available should be utilised to publicise the call for nominations including social media and Committee  Members are to take the advert to their constituency offices

6. the Mail and Guardian, City press and Sunday Times were identified as the three possible newspapers that could be used. The WCPP support staff were requested to investigate which of the three national newspapers received more coverage. The Committee resolved that the criteria for placement of the advert in the national newspaper should be based on circulation figures

Recommendations

The Committee recommended that:

1. officials from the Department of the Premier should attend all Committee meetings scheduled for the appointment process of the Commissioner for Children

2. the Chairperson should oversee all administrative processes in terms of the advertisements

The meeting was adjourned.