Chairperson, in order "to build a caring society in which children are inspired, motivated, involved and protected", the department has put in place a number of policies, strategies and programmes which are informed by the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005, which came into effect on 1 April 2010. The following are critical to the development and protection of our children.
In regard to early childhood development, ECD, the department plays an important role in the provision of access to early childhood development programmes. In the human life cycle, the early childhood phase - from birth to nine years - is considered the most important phase for every human being. Giving children the best start in life means ensuring that they have good health, proper nutrition and access to early learning. This contributes towards motivating and inspiring children while they are still young.
Our records show an increase in the number of registered early childhood development sites, as well as the number of children subsidised by the department. There has been an increase in the number of registered ECD sites, to 18 826. The number of children in ECD sites has also increased, to 789 424. The subsidy payment ranges between R11 and R14 for the daily attendance of children at the centres. There are 717 657 children who benefitted from the subsidy as at the end of March 2011.
What we also need to specify is that we are moving towards standardising the subsidy for all children throughout the country at R15, because it has been different, more especially in the rural areas, where it has been between R11 and R12. We are saying the rights of children in the rural areas are equal to the rights of children in the urban areas.
One other thing is that we are running a campaign where we are trying to ensure that we roll out 3 000 ECD centres in the rural areas over a period of three years, because that is where you find that there is a lack of ECD centres.
We also need to give praise where it is due. KwaZulu-Natal and the North West are the only provinces where the subsidy is equal. It is R15 in the rural areas and in the urban areas.
With regard to child protection, the promotion ... [Time expired.]