Question NW1967 to the Minister of Social Development

Reply:

1 (a) The amount that has been allocated by the Department of Social Development for food relief as a result of the violent protests is R100 million, which was distributed as follows: in (i) KwaZulu-Natal = R60 million for 81 429 food parcels and (ii) R40 million for 57 143 food parcels in Gauteng.

In addition to this allocation, SASSA has an allocation for social relief of distress in both provinces, which is used for the issuing of vouchers for affected families – not specifically for the response to the unrest.

(b) The criteria which will be used to allocate food relief includes:

• People experiencing hunger as a result of the public violence and looting.
• Families with bread winners who have been laid off from industries that have closed down.
• Families battling with hunger where there is no income (Living below the food poverty line of R585 per month).
• Targeting 70% rural & 30% urban areas of KZN

(c) The measures that have been put in place to eliminate double-dipping include verification of qualifying beneficiaries against the different lists, such as the SASSA social relief of distress vouchers vs the identified beneficiaries by Social Development officials;

(2) a) SASSA issued 5 568 food vouchers in KwaZulu-Natal and 337 food vouchers in Gauteng region to respond to the unrest for the period between 1 April 2021 to end July 2021.

b) Vouchers to be allocated will depend on the assessment of applications received since provision of this benefit is needs based and dependent on available resources. SASSA will provide assistance in accordance with the provisions as set in the Social Assistance Act, 2004.

Food relief provision from the Solidarity Fund was purely using food parcels and no vouchers were part of this response. This was due to the fact that the food outlets in some of the affected areas were destroyed. The provision of food parcels therefore ensured that vulnerable citizens had access to food;

(3) The cost of each food parcel is R700. The breakdown in terms of (a) food items, (b) packaging is as follows:

Category	Food items	Unit	Qty
Starch	Fortified Maize meal	KG	10
	Rice	KG	10
	Potatoes	KG	7
Protein	Tinned fish -Pilchards in Tomato Sauce	400g TIN	6
	Baked Beans in Sauce	410g TIN	6
	Sugar Beans/Split Peas	KG	2
	Milk Full Cream (Powder - not creamer) or liquid	KG Litres	1 6
Vegetable	Butternut OR Cabbage (Any veg in season)	KG	10 3
Seasoning	Onions	KG	2
	Cooking Oil	LIT	2
Other	Soap	Bar	2

(c) Transport and/or (d) food sourcing, packaging and distribution to households is fixed to not more than 5% of the food parcel value = R35 per food parcel.