DA wants Verulam crèche probed after baby's death
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KZN has called on Education MEC Mbali Frazer to order a thorough investigation into the death of a nine-month old baby at a crèche in Verulam, north of Durban.
It is believed that the baby was put to sleep by a caregiver at the facility in Zwelisha Hlongwa last week, and later discovered that the child had stopped breathing.
Police have opened an inquest docket for investigation.
The DA's Imran Keeka said as the overseer of Early Childhood Centres, the department has an obligation to find out what happened.
"We have a problem in KwaZulu-Natal, where ECD centres were thrust upon the department without a proper funded mandate, causing an immense pressure on the department to ensure that these facilities are properly regulated without even knowing how many they are exactly in KwaZulu-Natal. We cannot continue to operate in an environment that is unregulated and that puts children's lives at risk," said Keeka.
