Shameless Gauteng DSD officials steal food parcels, deny the poor food during the lockdown

15 April 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has been reliably informed that five DA Wards in the Emfuleni Local Municipality have been excluded from the distribution of food parcels while all the ANC Wards in this municipality are benefitting.

This municipality is not even considering people that were already on the indigent registers in these wards. This has resulted in many families who are desperately in need of food not receiving any food parcels.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development (DSD) officials and some politicians have allegedly been stealing and unfairly distributing food parcels that are meant to assist the financially strained families during this lockdown period.

The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) Tshwane branch has opened a corruption case against some DSD officials for allegedly giving food parcels to their own families and not to the poor people for which the food was intended.

It is high time that both the department officials and politicians be reminded that these food parcels are meant for the poor so that they have sufficient sustenance during the period of national lockdown and are not be used for political gains.

The DA recommends that the department should use each of the municipality’s indigent registers to distribute food parcels and only once the indigent register is exhausted can the department then explore other means of giving food parcels to those who qualify but never made it on to the indigent register.

The DA calls on the Acting MEC for Social Development, Panyaza Lesufi to urgently investigate the allegations of department officials allegedly stealing and unfairly distributing food parcels as well as the issue of the five DA Wards in Emfuleni that have been excluded with regards to the distribution of food parcels.

Should it be found that these allegations are true, those implicated should be dealt with accordingly.

Any person who steals food parcels is stealing from poor and must be arrested and face the might of the law. Members of the ANC and officials who are politicising food parcels should also be punished. Councillors should only be involved in giving the names of those in need but should not be involved in the distribution of food parcels.

Issued byRefiloe Nt’sekhe,DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, 15 April 2020