Urgent food relief provided for communities affected by unrest

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says the department has provided food relief to communities that were affected by the outbreak of civil unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Zulu said this when the National Assembly considered the oversight report of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on the impact of the civil unrest  in the two provinces on Wednesday.

Addressing the House during the debate, Zulu said departmental interventions included the provision of food through centre-based feeding programmes including early childhood development facilities, community nutrition development centres (CNDCs), drop-in centres, home community-based care and old age homes.

“These are funded by the department to implement food-related interventions, among others. Since the advent of the incidents of unrest, over 12 149 food parcels were issued in Gauteng province, feeding over 62 509 people who were adversely affected.

“Over the same period, an additional 100 430 people received meals from Community Nutrition Development Centres.”

The Minister said in KwaZulu-Natal, food relief was provided through the centre-based feeding programme and social relief of distress by the department and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

“To date, 42 573 were provided with food at the CNDCs in that province, while 36 734 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) vouchers were provided to the people affected.”

R100 million from Solidarity Fund to help laid off workers

Meanwhile, said Zulu, the department has requested additional funding from the Solidarity Fund, to address the food challenges in the other provinces. The Fund has already pledged R100 million.

She said the support will, among others, target workers that have been laid off from industries that have closed down.

This includes households with a total income below the food poverty line of R585 a month, as well as applicants of social relief of distress administered by the department.

“The provinces started to implement the relief measures on the 16th of August 2021,” she said.

Zulu has called on different sectors of the economy to partner with government to help provide social relief to affected communities.

“Through re-invigorated people, public, private, civic, academic, multilateral partnerships, the department’s programmes continue to be responsive while new interventions are emerging.

“Donors, non-profit organisations, business and universities are becoming part of these emerging partnerships, innovations that are unnecessary to undo the adversity that these incidents of civil unrest have brought into the lives of ordinary people.

“Government is making a call for active citizenship that is targeted at the sustainability where food security, the well-being of South Africans and nation building are concerned.

“Within that frame, we encourage the establishment of targeted people, public, private, civic, academic, multi-lateral partnerships among all concerned,” she said.