Kids at risk after subsidies not paid to NGOs

With nongovernment organisations running out of money for petrol and salaries, the Eastern Cape’s child protection system is under severe threat as the department of social development failed again to pay subsidies, child welfare organisations have warned.

A groundbreaking programme involving more than 1,000 at-risk children in Schauderville and Gelvandale is now also under threat as the department failed to pay subsidies for the sixth month in a row.

Anna-Louise Olivier, who heads up Uviwe Child and Youth Services which is running this programme, said that even though it had not received subsidies for six months, it was threatened constantly that its funding would be withdrawn if it did not file its reports on time.

Child Welfare provincial deputy chair Dalene Ritter said the majority of organisations removing children from dangerous and abusive circumstances, getting them into foster care and then providing family rehabilitation and children’s court services, had last been paid in December.

This had put the foster care system under severe threat as all the cases being handled by social workers employed by NGOs and nonprofit organisations in the province would revert to the department if these organisations closed down.

“NGO social workers are empowered to remove children from homes and place them in safety with foster parents or homes,” Ritter said.

“They also look into the rehabilitation of the family.

“They have to provide constant reports to the courts on these children.

“If you miss a deadline, it would place the child at severe risk.”

Irma Vermaak, from Child Welfare in Humansdorp, said they had two social workers and one assistant social worker serving an enormous rural area and none of them had been paid since December.

“We are not able to continue our work. Who will do the job?” she said.

Vermaak said the social workers had to deal with cases in Humansdorp, drive about

The affairs of the African Global Operations group of companies should not be under the care of the “rampant activities” of liquidators who should not have been appointed in the first place.

This submission was made in the South Gauteng High Court by African Global Holdings’ counsel‚ Mike Hellens SC‚ on Wednesday.

The holding company seeks an order declaring that the special resolution taken by six directors of African Global Operations on February 12 placing the Bosasa group of companies under liquidation, is void and of no force and effect.

Hellens said the special resolution had not been properly passed.

The company also seeks an order that Cloete Murray and Ralph Lutchman have no rights as provisional liquidators or liquidators of the companies.

“The consequence will be that the [liquidators] should never have been appointed‚” Hellens told acting judge Goolam Ameer.

He said the trigger for the liquidation‚ a special resolution by all companies under African Global Holdings‚ had never been pulled.

“The special resolution was null and void and had no force [from the beginning].

“The trigger for the liquidators’ appointment was never legally pulled‚ hence their appointment was null and void and should be set aside.”

Hellens said the six African Global Operations directors who met on February 12 had made a mistake when they purportedly signed for the companies to be placed under voluntary liquidation.

He said the directors of the various companies needed a solution following the closure of their bank accounts.

The banks had closed the companies’ accounts following allegations of state capture against the companies.

The closure of their bank accounts meant they would not be able to pay their employees and suppliers or receive payment for services rendered.

Hellens said the advice received from attorney Danie Potgieter was that the only option available to the group was to voluntarily liquidate the affected companies.

However‚ Ameer said the papers before court showed that the six directors signed the documents voluntarily.

“On what basis do I now ignore this evidence and say no meeting took place?” he asked.

Hellens said while Potgieter advised that the directors put the companies into liquidation‚ there were no properly convened meetings for each of the companies‚ as required by the Companies Act.

However‚ counsel for the liquidators‚ Werner Luderitz SC‚ said the directors had resolved in February that the companies must be brought under voluntary liquidation.

He said the directors signed the resolution and went to the master’s office to lodge it.

The directors nominated Ralph Lutchman as liquidators.

“It was always intended that the applicants wanted the company to be placed under liquidation‚” Luderitz said.

He said the problem was that the master of the high court appointed another liquidator‚ Cloete Murray‚ who took charge of the companies.

Luderitz said this was not what the directors intended.

“This is why we are in court‚” Luderitz said.

Ameer reserved judgment. –