BY NONKULULEKO NJILO – 05 April 2019 – 11:55
MP and chief Mandla Mandela on Friday called for crèches in the country to be thoroughly vetted after disturbing videos of a caretaker assaulting minors at a Carletonville crèche emerged.
“We further call on our government to undertake a national audit of such institutions and ensure that an ethical code of practice and minimum standards of child protection and care is adopted that will grant parents, guardians and custodians peace of mind while they place their children in the care of others,” said Mandela.
He urged authorities to leave no stone unturned in conducting a thorough investigation into the matter. He said an example should be made out of the alleged perpetrator of the abuse at the crèche.
Attorney Danie van Zyl, acting for the crèche’s principal, said the videos emerged about a week ago after a former disgruntled employee threatened to leak them to the public if the principal did not meet her financial demands.
“She threatened that she would make these videos viral and send them all over the country and to the parents because she wants to teach her a lesson. That transpired because she was dismissed for an earlier incident involving some alleged dishonesty,” said Van Zyl.
Mandela applauded the swift action taken by the Gauteng social development department to shut down the crèche with immediate effect.