Question NW649 to the Minister of Social Development

Reply:

1. (a) The regulation 9 of the Social Assistance Act 2004 indicates the following: A person in need of immediate temporary assistance qualifies for SRD if he or she:

i. has insufficient means;

ii. Is a South African citizen or permanent resident or a refugee

And complies with any of the following conditions-

(i) is awaiting payment of an approved social grant; or

The breadwinner -

i. has been assessed to be disabled for a period of less than six months

ii. of that household has died and an application is made within 12 months following the death of the breadwinner; or

iii. that household has been admitted to a public or private institution for at least one month

In addition to the above, Regulation 9(5) makes provision for social relief of distress to provide to persons where the households have been affected by a disaster (declared or undeclared). The above provisions are what informs the provision of any social relief of distress, including food parcels, by SASSA.

On the COVID-19 food parcels issued by DSD the following is considered:

• Households that have no source of income to buy food
• Households that were serviced by DSD centre based feeding programmes such as Community Nutrition and Development Centres (CNDCs), Drop-in Centres, Home Community Based Care Centres (HCBCC), Luncheon Clubs and etc that are closed due to lock-down,
• Households of orphans and vulnerable children needing support due to closure of the Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDs) National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP)
• Child-headed households

(b) The number of persons have received food parcels from the Government each month since 1 February 2020 (please note that information is not available for daily statistics) is indicated below:

Month	No of food parcels (SASSA)
February 2020	2,485
March 2020	5,378
April to 11May 2020	116 206

The Department started distributing food parcels specifically for COVID-19 through the Provinces on the 30th March 2020. Not all the provinces started on the same day due to procurement delays. The number of persons that have received food parcels from the Government each day since 1 February 2020 is as reflected on the table below:

DATES	EC	FS	GP	KZN	Limp	Mp	NC	NW	WC	TOTAL
30-Mar	0	0	514	0	0	0	0	0	0	514
31-Mar	0	0	293	0	0	0	0	0	0	293
01-Apr	0	0	451	0	0	0	0	0	0	451
02-Apr	0	0	936	0	0	0	0	0	0	936
03-Apr	0	0	1 385	0	0	0	105	0	0	1 490
04-Apr	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	0	0	20
05-Apr	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
06-Apr	0	0	2 379	0	0	0	5 693	0	0	8 072
07-Apr	0	0	2 438	0	0	0	1 056	0	0	3 494
08-Apr	0	0	2 790	0	0	0	2 011	0	0	4 801
09-Apr	0	0	2 303	0	0	0	1 570	0	0	3 873
10-Apr	0	0	0	0	0	0	141	164	1 050	1 355
11-Apr	0	0	0	0	1 751	495	1 121	164	2 000	5 531
12-Apr	0	0	0	0	833	1 506	0	164	2 500	5 003
13-Apr	0	0	1 843	0	2 000	351	0	1 310	1 500	7 004
14-Apr	0	0	1 963	0	8 847	131	705	164	490	12 300
15-Apr	0	0	2 952	0	1 500	0	1 018	164	2 020	7 654
16-Apr	0	0	3 151	0	1 990	0	3 258	164	1 655	10 218
17-Apr	354	0	3 126	0	1 990	2 627	1 161	0	750	10 008
18-Apr	546	0	814	0	500	2 375	188	164	2 750	7 337
19-Apr	890	0	0	0	1 990	2 627	0	164	486	6 157
20-Apr	666	0	3 224	540	1 819	1 805	1 223	164	4 575	14 016
21-Apr	400	0	2 680	1750	1 819	432	1225	164	1 080	9 550
22-Apr	575	0	2 159	3 000	473	1 831	1 644	5 082	2 010	16 774
23-Apr	1 010	0	2 440	2 000	3 277	82	1 523	0	576	10 908
24-Apr	380	525	1 467	1 250	1 983	131	1 528	0	666	7 930
25-Apr	875	782	617	2 500	1 000	4 352	364	856	3 400	14 746
26-Apr	275	394	54	2 000	233	4 192	0	6 296	2 010	15 454
27-Apr	369	434	855	2 500	1 500	1 943	0	1 206	5 200	14 007
28-Apr	384	414	2 146	2 441	1 500	2 538	0	206	1 450	11 079
29-Apr	1 000	443	12 058	1 300	267	83	0	1 338	4 700	21 189
30-Apr	330	454	4 713	875	1 500	316	0	462	3 650	12 300
01-May	530	309	5 163	335	1 000	0	0	412	2 355	10 104
02-May	0	466	234	200	500	0	450	0	3 030	4 880
03-May	141	503	3 936	450	1 322	0	100	0	2 015	8 467
04-May	675	0	2 421	750	350	0	1 682	668	3 000	9 546
05-May	2 289	918	2 983	2 300	1 300	138	2 502	1 030	342	13 802
06-May	1 074	271	6 140	2 400	2 000	186	1 704	412	478	14 665
07-May	2 400	148	3 729	575	1 200	133	1 786	618	450	11 039
08-May	1 059	570	2 552	800	780	0	2 645	998	2 000	11 404
09-May	2 300	875	2 081	875	650	0	913	750	1 950	10 394
10-May	754	300	5 527	985	1 200	0	0	800	1 900	11 466
11-May	898	243	4 965	1 075	1 000	0	2 421	650	2 700	13 952
12-May	154	566	4 518	586	570	0	2 639	1 300	1 060	11 393
13-May	0	639	3 634	789	380	0	0	0	1 500	6 942
TOTAL	20 328	9 254	107 634	32 276	49 024	28 274	42 396	26 034	67 298	382 518

(c) The food parcels contains the following food and other goods/ none food items:

Food Group	Items	Unit	Qty	Indicative cost per unit	Monthly cost (Rands)
Starch	Maize meal	KG	10	6	R60	R226
	Rice	KG	8	12	R96
	Potatoes	KG	7	10	R70
Protein	Pilchards	400g TIN	6	20	R120	R350
	Baked Beans	410g TIN	6	10	R60
	Lentils	KG	2	20	R40
	Milk Powder	KG/Litres	1 / 6	130	R130
Veg	Butternut	KG	10	6	R60	R60
Seasoning	Onions	KG	2	6	R12	R52
	Oil	LIT	2	20	R40
Other	Soap	Bar	2	8	R16	R16
Total monthly cost for food per month	R704	R704

Please also see food parcel content attached as Annexure A for normal SASSA SRD food parcel

See Annexure B for an amended food parcel being provided as a response to the current disaster.

(d) The cost of the food parcel was determined through the tender process. The cost of a food parcel varies by supplier, but cannot exceed R1 500. However, the food parcels provided by SASSA, with the reduced content is R1 200.

The DSD cost of each food parcel is R700.00 per food parcel. This was done to create uniformity and reduce the levels of disparities between the SASSA SRD and the DSD Food Relief food parcels. This amount excludes the sourcing, handling & distribution costs and the SASSA amount is inclusive.

(2) The name(s) of the service provider(s) that was contracted to provide food parcels in each province are:

Province	Name of service provider
Eastern Cape	Adventist Development & Relief Agency (ADRA)
Free State	Adventist Development & Relief Agency (ADRA)
Gauteng	Kagisano
	Believers Care Society
	Entokozweni Development
	Siyabonga Development
	Carol Shaw
	Bokamoso Development
	Rorisang PTY LTD
	Barath Chemicals & Engineering
	Mohlodi 247 Business Solutions
	Schutz Trading and Enterprise
	Chobokwane PTY LTD
KwaZulu Natal	Action Development Agency (ADA)
Limpopo	Makotse Womens Club
Mpumalanga	Kago Yabana Foundation
Northern Cape	Motswedi Wa Sechaba
	Islamic Relief South Africa
	Lunchbox
North West	Motswedi Wa Sechaba
	Wolrd Focus Projects
	Mekgwe Mobile Shop (PTY) LTD
	RXD Logistics 9
	Re Thusa Botlhe Catering & Cleaning Services
	Mabogo Dinku Enterprise & Projects
	DM Mega Enterprise
	Mojero Trading
	Blink Of Africa Group of Companies
	Matshota Trading Enterprise
	Owabo Bonke Trading Projects
	Pefect Girlz
Western Cape	Ilitha Labantu
	Islamic Relief South Africa
	Mustadafin Foundation
	The South Africa Red Cross Society
	SANZAF

 

The name(s) of the service provider(s) that have been contracted by SASSA to provide food parcels in each province are attached as Annexure C.

(3) The majority of the applicants for social relief are also self-referrals by citizens experiencing undue hardship. However, SASSA does work with a range of stakeholders in administering this programme. These stakeholders include the Department of Health and Department of Education for the zero hunger programme which supports nutritionally challenged children.

With regards to social relief in the form of food parcels provided as a response to the current disaster, SASSA is a member of the provincial coordinating structures (Provjocs) in all provinces where the provision of social relief of distress is jointly coordinated by different key stakeholders (Municipalities and Government departments). In addition, SASSA has received lists of citizens who have been unable to contact SASSA directly from various NGOs and civil society organisations. The citizens off these lists have been contacted and an application form completed for each one. Those applications which have been approved are then issued with food parcels.

The Departmental officials profile households to identity people in need of food assistance and refer those in need to various social development centres that provide social development services including food assistance.

A community member is then serviced by one of the following DSD centre based programmes depending on the age and other social needs of the individual: Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD), a Community Nutrition and Development Centre (CNDC), Drop-in Centre (DIC), Home Community Based Care Centre (HCBCC), or the Luncheon Club.

The Department collaborates with non-profit organisations to then service the identified persons in need of social services. All DSD centres are operated by non-profit organisations and food parcels were 1st provided to DSD centres with already profiled beneficiaries that were receiving food assistance even prior to lock-down.

During lock-down these beneficiaries would have been more vulnerable. The food parcels intervention targeted them through the DSD centre based programmes. Refer to the attached - list of CNDCs from the provinces operated by NPOs.

Another mechanism is the call centre, which was established in most provinces during COVID-19 lock-down for receiving more people in need of assistance beyond DSD centres and self-referrals.

Call-centres in Provinces:

The Provinces received requests for food relief through the Call Centre or provided email. The information is shared with Provincial DSD Team, which then cluster requests by District and service area. Teams are then allocated to respond to the requests. On assessment, the team on the ground makes the determination based on set assessment criteria. Food parcels then get delivered to the households by the officials.

(4) The demand for food parcels has definitely increased since the lock-down was announced. In trying to ensure the Department was able to respond to the increased demand, the application form for SRD was reduced, to capture only essential information and Ministerial Directions signed on 30 March 2020 enabling SASSA to take telephonic applications, so that the need for face to face interviews could be dispensed with.

The content of the relief parcel and price was reduced as a strategy to stretch the budget and provide assistance to as many deserving beneficiaries as possible. The fresh produce, samp (which requires a long time to cook which means increased energy costs for those already struggling) were excluded and each parcel was issued at a standardised price of R1 200 per food parcel in all provinces.

The qualifying criteria for SASSA applications was limited to include specific categories only, in an effort to prevent duplication with other organisations also providing food relief. The following categories of clients were identified for assistance by SASSA:

• People who did not receive grants in April 2020 because their grants were suspended: temporary disability grants;
• Children who turned 18 after lockdown
• Grant beneficiaries who experienced challenges in April to access the grants (card lost or faulty; failed bank verification; fraud; etc)
• People who should have applied but could not do so as a result of the lockdown (people who turn 60 years old; new born babies whose care givers would have applied for CSG)
• Persons experiencing undue hardship but do not fall into one of the above categories.

A number of the above categories of clients have been addressed through the latest Directions signed on 9 May – these include the reinstatement of temporary disability grants and care dependency grants and care dependency grants where the care dependent children turn 18 years of age in February, March and April 2020. The grant amounts have also been increased as from May 2020 has also been implemented to try and ensure that social grant beneficiaries are cushioned from the impact of the disaster.

The introduction of the special relief grant of R350 per month as from May has also addressed the last category – that is persons experiencing undue hardship.

(5) The Department and SASSA has, as indicated above, cooperated with various civil society organisations in receiving information about citizens who could potentially qualify for food relief. However, distribution was done by Departmental (SASSA & DSD) staff only to ensure accountability.

National Assembly written Reply: 649 of 2020