DA calls on MEC Lesufi to consider cash payments and to distribute food parcels only as a last resort
5 May 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is calling on the Acting Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Panyaza Lesufi to consider other options other than food parcels to ensure that our people have food on time during this national lockdown.
The department is encountering problems distributing food parcels such as unfair distribution, corruption, people intercepting the food parcels and using them for their own purposes. There are also long queues and stampede where food is being distributed leading to people breaking social distancing regulations.
The food parcels are expensive because of procurement, transportation and distribution costs. Food parcels cost the Gauteng Department of Social Development between R1000 and R1200 per parcel. Yet some of the money is lost to the distribution costs and the recipients do not get the full value of money in the food provided.
The department is failing to meet its 48-hour turnaround time to deliver food parcels because there are people who are desperately in need of food and who claim that they have applied for food parcels on 30 March and to date the department is yet to respond.