DA complains to SAHRC over prevention of food distribution by NGOs

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says they have lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against the department of social development (DSD) following a supposed instruction prohibiting NGOs from distributing cooked food to hungry people during lockdown.

MPL Refiloe Nt’sekhe said in a statement on Monday: “We are of the view that the ban on the distribution of cooked food is in violation of the Constitution – particularly on the right to dignity, the right to life and the right to sufficient food, water and appropriate social assistance.”

Nt’sekhe said the party complaint came in two-folds, including the prevention of soup kitchens and prepared hot meal schemes from operating places poor people who cannot afford water and electricity to cook their own food at risk of hunger.

“It is also not guaranteed that those who depend on cooked food will receive non-perishable food parcels timeously once distribution is halted – given the recent ongoing delays and reports of corruption related to the distribution of food parcels,” she said.

The MPL said that while independent schemes may still operate, the rules they need to comply with make it almost impossible for them to continue their work and that NGOs will essentially be expected to apply for permits every time they distribute food.

“The bureaucratic challenges within the DSD and SASSA will also make independent distribution impossible. The ban on NGOs distributing cooked food will do more harm than good.

“Already in Gauteng, the DA has been reliably informed that the Cradle of Hope had been forced to stop rendering their services after the Gauteng DSD issued a permit prohibiting them from distributing cooked food and only allows them to distribute non-perishable food parcels.

“Many of the residents who depended on these sandwiches are likely to face starvation because they either cannot afford water and electricity, or they do not have access to these amenities, in order to cook their own food,” she said.

Nt’sekhe further said the situation was further exacerbated by the fact that many families in Gauteng who had applied for food parcels in April were yet to receive any assistance from the department.

“This instruction to prohibit NGOs from distributing cooked food is problematic given the fact that Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu’s leaked regulations are still in the draft phase and, therefore, not enforceable.

“Further to this, the ban seems more like an attempt to exercise power and punish the poor, than an attempt to protect the vulnerable from starvation.

“If the ANC-led Gauteng administration is serious about feeding the hungry and cares about the welfare of its people, then it must oppose the proposal by its national counterpart to ban the distribution of cooked meals,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, 1000Women1Voice hit back against the DSD by writing to the executive director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka complaining about the department’s proposal to control and accredit soup kitchens.

READ NEXT: ‘Hands off our soup kitchens’ – UN Women asked to stop SA govt interference in NPO work.

(Compiled by Molefe Seeletsa)

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