Grants a 'licence to fortune'

2008-12-04 16:20

Siphiwe Nyathi

Sabie - High school girls in Mpumalanga say that Social Services Minister Zola Skweyiya must stop providing child support grants because it merely encourages teenage girls to fall pregnant so they can get money.

Hundreds of girls aged 13 to 18 attended the Girl Children conference in Sabie on Tuesday to discuss the challenges that lead to teen pregnancies, HIV/Aids, poverty, child trafficking, illiteracy, sexual exploitation, child labour and sexual abuse.

"Most teenagers in rural areas say that having a child is a fashion statement and you can receive R210 a month, so giving birth is their licence to fortune," said one girl, Itumeleng Mashigo, 15, who is in Grade 9 at Skhila Secondary School in Graskop.

"The (current system) just increases the number of unwanted babies who are thrown down sewers and into bins and increases the HIV rate and number [of] orphans," she said.

She said young mothers should rather be given food parcels instead of money, otherwise they use it to by clothing for themselves.

'No matric, no grant'

She also suggests that only young mothers who have passed matric, qualify for child support grants.

"No matric, no grant," she said. "It is embarrassing to see a 15-year-old teenager with more than two children from different fathers. Imagine if the number of grant beneficiaries starts exceeding the number of taxpayers. This will affect the economy of the country badly."

The conference was organised by the Ehlanzeni district municipality's transversal unit in conjunction with the departments of health and education.

The Nkomazi local municipality in Ehlanzeni has the highest rate of teen pregnancies at 98,2% followed by Bushbuckridge at 97,8%.

Mashigo complained that teenage pregnancy and HIV awareness programmes were held mainly in the suburbs and townships and not in rural areas.

Elsinah Mhlongo, manager of the children's rights office in Mpumalanga, said most South African children were poverty-stricken, had no access to basic resources such as formal education, public health facilities, recreational facilities and social grants.

She said young girls tended to engage in sexual activities in order to get money, but ended up getting more than they bargained for.

"Men and boys will use you and destroy your precious future if you choose to be mafanato (keep quiet). You will be like the orange without juice that no one can buy no matter how hungry they are," she said.

- African Eye