Gauteng's health and social development department will implement the recommendations of a curator to assist Zimbabwean children living in the Central Methodist Church in the Johannesburg city centre, the department said on Tuesday.

MEC Qedani Mahlangu has welcomed the findings, released on Monday, in a report by legal curator Ann Skelton.

In a statement, Mahlangu said the department would work with Unicef and other non-governmental organisations to implement Skelton's recommendations to address the plight of the children.

Non-binding report

Mahlangu said the department would study Skelton's report and make a detailed submission in two weeks. The public also has two weeks to comment on the report.

Skelton was appointed to compile the report by the High Court in Johannesburg in December after an application by the Aids Law Project.

She said on Monday that while the report was non-binding, she expected that the recommendations in it would be taken up as a matter of "good faith".

The report found that although the Church was "unsuitable" shelter for children, it had been their only option amid a lack of government assistance.

The report also found that the length of time the children spent at the church had hindered the ability of the government and non-governmental organisations to help them.

"The children have formed strong bonds with one another and certain adults at the church, and this has made them resistant to the assistance being offered to them."

Allegations of abuse

Skelton's report found that the allegations of sexual abuse by officials at a school housed in the church "were sufficiently alarming... to have required a more robust response".

The report recommended that cases be further assessed by the provincial prosecutor.

It noted that most of the children had since been moved the Soweto Community Centre and suggested they remain there and that a service provider be appointed for the centre's management as a shelter until individual plans for the children could be made.

The report recommended that, to avoid the future shelter of children at the church, a reception centre should be opened in Selby "without delay".

The report pointed out that a further 150 unaccompanied children were staying in unregistered shelters in Musina, near the Zimbabwean border, "and more children are arriving on a daily basis".

It called on the national government to implement a system for dealing with these children to prevent burdening of the budgets of Limpopo and Gauteng.

The report warned that the children were undocumented and risked becoming "stateless" if their situation was not addressed.