With Parliament set to start its new term, and a new administration at the helm, swift finalisation of the draft Children's Amendment Bill should be a clear priority.

Supporting young children in their early years is one of the most potent human capital investments that a country can make. It is essential for children's growth and development, and can break the cycle of poverty and inequality in South Africa.

Currently, only a third of children under six are accessing early childhood development (ECD) programmes, despite ECD being a national priority. Many of these programmes are not registered and the majority do not receive state subsidies. This is largely because ECD programmes across the country, many in the poorest and most under-resourced communities, battle a complicated and expensive registration process to access funding support.

For years, the ECD sector has called for a more enabling legal framework, to eliminate unnecessary red tape and bring more ECD programmes into the regulatory fold. In 2020, proposed amendments to the Children's Act, which would have made it more difficult for ECD programmes to register and obtain much-needed government support, were roundly rejected by ECD stakeholders.

To its credit, the Department of Basic Education engaged with the sector's calls for reform, and in May this year published the draft Children's Amendment Bill. The proposed amendments embrace a more developmental and enabling approach to...