MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Committee on Social Development Resolves to Refer Children’s Amendment Bill to Department of Social Development for Re-Drafting

Committee on Social Development Resolves to Refer Children’s Amendment Bill to Department of Social Development for Re-Drafting

Republic of South Africa: The Parliament
Download logo

The Portfolio Committee on Social Development has resolved to defer the Children’s Amendment Bill to the Department of Social Department to allow it to redraft the 126 clauses the previous committee did not process.

That previous committee passed only 12 foster care-related clauses so that Parliament and the department could meet a North Gauteng High Court deadline. The department will redraft these clauses, taking into consideration the substantive submissions and proposals made by stakeholders and the public during the committee’s public participation process on the bill.

The previous committee had resolved that the bill be introduced as a committee bill by the 7th Parliament committee. However, after receiving legal advice from the Constitutional and Legal Services Office on the development, drafting and legislative processes of committee bills, as well as the implications of the Constitutional Court’s judgement on Section 40 of the Children’s Act, the committee resolved that the department is best placed to redraft the bill due to Parliament’s capacity constraints to develop policies that will substantiate the bill.

The submissions received contained new proposals that require extensive policy development on issues that include the safe abandonment of children (baby savers), corporal punishment, new proposals in relation to the rights of unmarried fathers (a traditional perspective) and children’s right to privacy on digital platforms.

The department’s legal advisor informed the committee that since the time the previous committee took a decision not to process the bill, many new issues have emerged in the space of intercountry adoptions, baby savers and the rights and responsibilities of unmarried fathers, which require the department to rethink its position on provisions it made previously on the bill. Even if Parliament had passed the Bill, the department would have to amend it again.

The committee agreed that the timeline of the processing of this Bill would receive priority oversight.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

The Portfolio Committee on Social Development has resolved to defer the Children’s Amendment Bill to the Department of Social Department to allow it to redraft the 126 clauses the previous committee did not process.

That previous committee passed only 12 foster care-related clauses so that Parliament and the department could meet a North Gauteng High Court deadline. The department will redraft these clauses, taking into consideration the substantive submissions and proposals made by stakeholders and the public during the committee’s public participation process on the bill.

The previous committee had resolved that the bill be introduced as a committee bill by the 7th Parliament committee. However, after receiving legal advice from the Constitutional and Legal Services Office on the development, drafting and legislative processes of committee bills, as well as the implications of the Constitutional Court’s judgement on Section 40 of the Children’s Act, the committee resolved that the department is best placed to redraft the bill due to Parliament’s capacity constraints to develop policies that will substantiate the bill.

The submissions received contained new proposals that require extensive policy development on issues that include the safe abandonment of children (baby savers), corporal punishment, new proposals in relation to the rights of unmarried fathers (a traditional perspective) and children’s right to privacy on digital platforms.

The department’s legal advisor informed the committee that since the time the previous committee took a decision not to process the bill, many new issues have emerged in the space of intercountry adoptions, baby savers and the rights and responsibilities of unmarried fathers, which require the department to rethink its position on provisions it made previously on the bill. Even if Parliament had passed the Bill, the department would have to amend it again.

The committee agreed that the timeline of the processing of this Bill would receive priority oversight.

Per Kind Favour of APO

Category: Tag: , , , , , , , , ,

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • NSFAS 2027 applications close on 31 October — SASSA households, apply now

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. NSFAS applications for the 2027 academic year close on Friday 31 October 2026, and no extension is expected. If your household receives a SASSA grant, your child already passes the NSFAS financial eligibility test — but they still have to…

  • Publish the Call, Then Publish the Grade

    Dear Editor, South African football fans argue about everything — lineups, referees, who should start up front. But there’s one argument we never have, because nobody gives us the numbers: were the predictions we read all week actually any good? I help run XG Mind AI, a small independent football data lab. Our rule is…

  • Don’t Ignore a SASSA Review Notice — It Is Not a Cancellation

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. SASSA has reminded beneficiaries that a grant review is not a cancellation. A review simply checks whether a beneficiary still meets the qualifying requirements — it can be triggered by a change in income, employment, marital status, address, contact details…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Slap chips – French fries [slup-chips] An Afrikaans word meaning limp and describing soft, fat French fries. These are usually mixed with tomato sauce and vinegar.