YVONNE XABA-BHOODU: By law, you have to be registered as a place of care for the government to know that there is a place like this that is existing’€¦ That means, also, you can also apply for funding’€¦

KHOPOTSO: Yvonne Xaba-Bhoodu, an auxiliary social worker employed at Vhuthamo Transitional Home last year, to specifically help fast-track the registration of the home, explaining why it’€™s important to have the centre registered. Three years ago, it would seem, municipal boundaries had a hand in the delay of getting the home registered. Leyden Field is the chairperson of the Vhuthamo executive committee.

LEYDEN FIELD: The situation of Vhuthamo is on the outskirts of Orange Farm and it borders on to Walkerville and it’€™s close to Johannesburg. So, we thought it was ideal, until we met up with boundary lines – boundary lines between Mid-vaal, boundary lines between city of Johannesburg – Region 11, Sebokeng. Which area did we fall into? We went down to Sebokeng’€¦ We said ‘€˜can you guide us’€™? They said ‘€˜yes, we can. You’€™re in Sebokeng’€™. So, we made our application for registration to Sebokeng.

KHOPOTSO: More bureaucracy was to follow. The boundary line was re-drawn.

LEYDEN FIELD: But we didn’€™t know that. And nobody informed us about it until we subsequently followed up on what was happening with the application. Then, we discovered we fell under Region 11 ‘€“ city of Johannesburg. So, since they couldn’€™t find the application, we decided to make a new one. We re-submitted it both to Johannesburg Region 11 and to the provincial level’€¦ Since then, we’€™ve been trying to deal with the Social Welfare Department.            

KHOPOTSO: The process at the department hasn’€™t been easier.

LEYDEN FIELD: The people in the positions change. They get promoted or they leave’€¦ So, we’€™ve been dealing with a series of people there. It’€™s really been very difficult to track the application because you’€™re not given a letter of acknowledgement and you’€™re not given a tracking number. So, you can’€™t phone in and say ‘€˜I’€™m number so and so. Where’€™s my application in the queue’€™? You’€™ve got to find the person who’€™s dealing with it.

KHOPOTSO: Part of the difficulty, adds Field, is that when people left their positions they wouldn’€™t do a proper hand-over, forcing them to start all over with their application.

The Director of Communications in the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Sello Mokoena, does not take responsibility for the delay.

SELLO MOKOENA: That is the story you have from the applicants’€¦ The report I have before me does not say that’€¦ So, it would seem that there is a misunderstanding between the social workers themselves and the people on the ground. Or somebody’€™s not telling the truth.  

KHOPOTSO: The report Mokoena’€™s referring to does acknowledge, however, that the application was received almost two years ago after an initial one was submitted to the local municipality, in Sebokeng. Mokoena explains:

SELLO MOKOENA: One of the pre-requisites is that they should have a health certificate that comes from the local municipality, and they also need to have children assessed for the children to be placed in the home or for them to qualify for the license, and they also have to get a court order’€¦ so that children can be placed in terms of Child Act 74 of 1983. And, also, they need to have a qualified social worker providing statutory services to the children at the site, which is not the case with this particular home care. These are some of the things they have not met.                                      

KHOPOTSO: Yvonne Xaba-Bhoodu, the auxiliary social worker at the home refutes this.

YVONNE XABA-BHOODU: I have, myself, collected all the documents, went to Social Development and asked them what are the documents that they need in order for us to be registered. They’€™ve told me all those things. But now, after I’€™ve took all the documents to them, then after some time ‘€“ maybe, six months ‘€“ they will let you know that, ‘€˜no, you didn’€™t submit some other one document’€™ that they need’€¦ They didn’€™t give you all the information that is needed’€¦

KHOPOTSO: We have in our possession all, but one, of the documents Vhuthamo Home claims to have submitted for registration of the home ‘€“ a process that should take a maximum of three months. Court orders legitimising that the children be placed with it are not available. Instead, the home has affidavits from the local police station of Orange Farm. As she is an auxiliary, the Department does not recognise Yvonne Xaba-Bhoodu as a qualified social worker. If registration continues to stall these few months, the home might have to shut down in May leaving the 20 children in its care to face a bleak future. However, Social Development indicates that that might not be necessary. Hopefully, the intervention is not too little too late.

SELLO MOKOENA: We assist them to acquire a temporary registration with the NPO Directorate so that they should have the legitimacy to raise funds to survive.  

E-mail Khopotso Bodibe