City considers new policies on social issues

By Ofentse Mokae
02 March 2010

The City of Cape Town’s social development committee is expected today to consider two new policies based on education and social welfare.

The first policy is the new draft of the Early Childhood Development Policy and Guidelines.

According to the city, the policy has been developed in collaboration with the provincial government, NGOs in the ECD sector and experts in the field.

The existing piece of law is reportedly not meeting the current needs of the sector it was primarily intended to guide the assessment of land use applications for crèches and therefore did not address all of the needs of young children.

However the new draft policy takes a more holistic approach and is a significant departure from the existing one, the city says.

Officials say it recognises the importance of the early years of childhood and is geared towards meeting the needs of these children.

On the other hand the city is also expected to consider the 2010 Street People Programme.

It involves various stakeholders, including the Displaced People’s Unit, Metro Police Academy, Provincial Government, the police amongst others.

The programme will address the following main issues: management of any anti-social behaviour by street people,
providing stakeholders with the necessary tools for managing any incidents involving street people, ensuring that street people are dealt with within a human rights framework and providing activities that street people can access during the FIFA 2010 World Cup