Question NW2373 to the Minister of Social Development
04 January 2021 - NW2373
Ismail, Ms H to ask the Minister of Social Development
With reference to her reply to question 1350 on 21 September 2020, (a) on what criteria were the beneficiaries chosen and (b) what (i) total amount did each food parcel cost including the exact details of costing per food item and (ii) was the total cost of the project?
Reply:
a) All applicants for social relief of distress as administered by SASSA must meet qualifying criteria as set in the Social Assistance Act, 2004. This means that all applicants would have met one or more of the following criteria:
- Not receiving any social grant
- Temporarily disabled for less than 6 months
- Breadwinner of the family admitted to a state institution
- Applicant affected by a disaster
- Refusal of the application would cause undue hardship
b) (i) Each approved applicant was provided with a standard food parcel at a cost of R1 200 per food parcel. Each item was not costed separately, but the food parcel contained the items as indicated on the list attached as Annexure A.
(ii) SASSA utilised the allocated budget for social relief of distress. There was no specific allocation for Ekurhuleni. The total allocation for Gauteng Province is R61 050 000 for the 2020/21 financial year.