‘We Are Failing Our Children’ Says Ramaphosa In Weekly Newsletter

There is a proverb common to many African cultures which says that it takes a village to raise a child. This idea – that the broader community has a responsibility for the development, well-being and safety of each child – comes to mind when I think about the tragic and deeply upsetting death of 13-year-old Enoch Mpianzi on a school camp just over a week ago.

Sadly, Enoch is not the only child in recent weeks to lose his life for reasons that were entirely preventable, if only adults had exercised due care and responsibility.

One thinks of another 13-year-old, Keamohetswe Shaun Seboko, who recently drowned in the swimming pool of a Magaliesburg primary school, and the two children who died at the Lekgolo Primary School in Limpopo when a truck crashed into a wall that collapsed on them.

One thinks also about the many children, like 6-year-old Nathlia Pienaar, who are killed in