ABSTRACT
The court stressed that the primary responsibility for supporting children rested on parents and families where children are abandoned or lack a family environment, the State does bear the primary responsibility for providing for them. In August 2001, widespread reports of severe child malnutrition in the Eastern Cape were reported after a study conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape. Even where the Grant is being received, it is limited to children aged less than 7 years, and the amount payable is inadequate to address even children's basic needs. The South African Law Commission in its Discussion Document took the view that, where the carer of the child is related to the child, a new category of care, namely 'care with relatives' should be introduced. New approaches towards child maintenance are urgently required in South Africa, including the identification of a minimum core of the government's obligations in relation to this right.
