Iwould give anything to be a fl y on the wall of the office of the Child Development Unit I wonder what discussions our heroes are having on this fine morning? Changing the name of the department?

After all, how do you “develop” a dead child? Shall we call it the Department of Dead Children, instead?

Or they could be discussing sending a letter to the minister of finance? I mean, he is the one minister Sheila Bappoo blamed last time a child died yet another violent death. Pravind is stingy, Sheila said. So maybe the CDU officers could consider writing to the minister of finance to request that he spares a few millions – after all he is the champion of finding spare millions, isn’t he?- to fund the dead children department?

You know, inject some money in the CDU to do the basic things it’s actually supposed to do, like hiring more people, training them, asking a few of them to read what the Ombusdperson for Children’s reports say about the CDU every single year?

And then maybe, they could discuss doing something about the criticisms? Like devise a plan to be able to properly identify the children who are about to be beaten, raped or dead and maybe just try and save them for a change?

Is that really too much to ask?

Oh and I wonder what the minister who is supposed to be responsible for the protection of children, is up to, this very minute? It’s not her fault you will tell me. But do you know what? I am sick and tired of no one taking responsibility for anything anymore in this country. How many more children have to die before somebody is made an example of?

How many more?

The deaths teach us nothing. I remember Shirin Cziffra saying after poor Joannick Martin had died in September last year that she hoped the little girl, who was raped and burnt alive, didn’t die in vain.

Well, she did.

The Ombudsperson’s recommendations after Joannick’s death were dismissed by the cabinet and the ministry for children.

So for how much longer will children die because the authorities didn’t protect them from their abusive parents? For how many more years, are we going to have mothers with nine kids, too poor and too drunk to do anything more than drink and procreate?

Mothers who “forget” to look out for their toddlers so that they can go and drown themselves in a river?

Well, for a long time if you ask me. The issue of children and of women is simply not a priority for government. A government that will spend Rs 21.5 billion to build roads but that cannot make a priority of the fate of abused children.

Will anyone step down, I wonder? Banish the thought! Why would anyone step down because a poor kid has died? Responsibility? Come again?

So the CDU will keep on passing the blame, as will the minister and cabinet “take note” that another child has died and we can go back to discussing the pros and cons of white and yellow number plates.

Have a nice day.