Gauteng Early Childhood Development Educators Protest Over Funding Crisis

About 300 early childhood development centre educators picketed near Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s office in Johannesburg on Thursday.

About 300 early childhood development (ECD) educators protested over unpaid subsidies in Johannesburg on Thursday. They demanded Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi urgently intervene in the funding crisis.

Led by the South African Congress for Early Childhood Development, the educators, dressed in white, marched from Beyers Naudé Square to the Premier’s office.

The protesters say ECD centres have not received funds promised by the provincial government. They demanded that the Gauteng Department of Education honour an agreement signed in March to pay ECD centres R24 per child per day. Instead, the centres say, they have received only R10 per child, and many centres have not been paid at all.

“We are supposed to be paid quarterly, but some centres haven’t received any payment for two terms,” said Queen Nomthandazo Somdaka, a congress leader.

“On August 19, we were told payments would be made, but that deadline has passed. What must the children eat in the meantime?” she asked.

The protesters also want unregistered ECD centres to be formally recognised, and certain municipal by-laws affecting their operations to be scrapped.

Fana Mogashoa, who runs a crèche in Soshanguve, said the funding crisis has left centres unable to pay staff or cover running costs. His centre, established in 1999 by his late mother, employs 12 people and serves 86 children, aged two to four years old.

“Without these subsidies, we rely on parents’ fees, but most parents depend on child grants and cannot afford to pay regularly,” Mogashoa said. “We used to manage when payments came on time, but now we’re drowning.”

Lesufi’s advisor, Mxolisi Eric Xayiya, received the memorandum on behalf of the provincial government. He proposed that three representatives from the protesters join a steering committee to meet with officials on Friday and report back.

The educators, however, said they expect a formal response from the Premier’s office by 4 September.

Gauteng government spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga has not responded to our queries.

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