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By Yolisa Tswanya 
3h ago
The new draft regulation before the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, prohibits the distribution of cooked food and will require all NGOs to apply for permits if they wish to distribute any type of food aid.
The Western Cape MEC for Social Development, Sharna Fernández, said: “This is deeply concerning. It will make it extremely difficult for private donors, NGOs and civil society to distribute food aid to those most in need.
“It will threaten the food security of the most vulnerable people in our province and, in fact, throughout the country, and will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis caused by the harsh closure.”
Zulu said: “We have noticed challenges with long lines of food being distributed by NGOs. These challenges were experienced when the private sector and NPOs distributed food packages in an uncoordinated manner, where the local municipality, provinces, and law enforcement agencies are sometimes not informed and are not part of these distributions. ”
She said uncoordinated food distribution created duplication and partisan and corruption challenges.
“Although adequate coordination structures and mechanisms exist at the national and provincial levels, we recognize that this is not enough. I would also like to ask everyone who has received food packages to be considerate and take no more than their fair share.
“Our resources are limited, so when you take two packages of food instead of one, you are taking away another vulnerable family. To all those NGOs that stand shoulder to shoulder with us to ensure that our people can access food, I wish to express my sincere thanks. ”
He said they would develop official instructions to address the challenges that would encourage NGOs to coordinate with municipalities, provinces and law enforcement agencies to ensure they distribute food in a better coordinated way.
Lauren Printag of Milnerton CAN, an organization that has been helping the community with food packages, said she welcomed the idea, as long as it was streamlined.
“There’s a part of me that understands it and as long as it’s over the board and we can easily apply for a permit, then it shouldn’t be a problem. We have to keep doing what we’re doing and if anything changes, we’ll take care of it. But we have the right to feed people and, if we can, we should continue to do so. ”
Jason de Vries, a Blackheath resident who started a food package campaign with a R10000 donation from an anonymous donor, said he would have no problem, either.
“I think if we can get permits it will be appreciated as it will save us less drama. I think it is a smart idea and it would legitimize what we do and we will be able to show the police that what we are doing is legitimate. ”
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