Residents cry foul over R30m food parcel list process

The process of choosing destitute families that will benefit from Buffalo City Metro’s R30m food parcel vouchers has been riddled with allegations of favouritism.

The metro has availed R30m towards providing much-needed food parcels to 40,000 families in each of its 50 wards. Each ward has to identify 800 people living below the poverty line who will receive the R750 vouchers.

People meant to benefit from the food vouchers are the elderly, people with chronic illnesses, child-headed homes and hawkers.

However, some residents in Fynbos, Mdantsane, Duncan Village and Cambridge township say that deserving families have been excluded from the lists of beneficiaries, with cronies of politically connected people being registered as beneficiaries.

Mdantsane resident Lulama Tshayi, 63, said her family of 14 was removed from the list.

“We do not know why our names have been removed. There is no-one who works at home. I have a disabled child to look after at home and we have not received anything,” she said.

DA PR councillor Bill Gould said some ward councillors had refused to register people on their lists because “they had already completed their lists, apparently with EPWP employees”.

“Naturally the wider community is outraged and wants this matter investigated as to whether this programme is being implemented correctly,” he said.

In B Hostel in Duncan Village, councillor Ntombizandile Mhlola has been accused of sidelining the ward and area committees from the process, resulting in some undeserving people being registered as beneficiaries.

Duncan Village area committee member Ziwe Neku said in her street, not one of about 200 struggling families had been registered for the vouchers.

“Some of the people, like car-wash workers, street vendors and barbers, are not working. This process was flawed. Other area committees told me their streets were skipped as well. This is really concerning,” she said.

Mhlola denied any wrongdoing, saying they had not yet verified the list they were compiling. She said due processes were being followed. “I even go to their houses to verify the information,” she said.

Residents in Fynbos and Cambridge township shared similar stories and called for the city to ensure those meant to benefit from the programme were on the lists.

BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya told the Daily Dispatch on Tuesday that they had taken measures to ensure the food parcels voucher system was not abused.

“To ensure controls, identified households are submitted via their identity documents so that people on the list can be traced and their vouchers cannot be utilised by other people, hence beneficiaries will use their IDs to purchase.

“Progress reports will be submitted and the entire programme will be monitored, evaluated and actions will be taken accordingly,” he said, encouraging residents to contact their ward councillors.

BCM's R30m is over and above R45m from the department of social development to buy food parcels for 264,312 poor families in the province during the national lockdown.

The DA has raised concerns about the R45m being insufficient, and social development MEC Siphokazi Lusithi-Mani has conceded the amount is a drop in the ocean of hunger.

The MEC said she would submit a proposal to the provincial treasury to ask for more money to buy food parcels.

Businesses, political parties, civil society organisations and residents have donated food parcels to destitute families since the lockdown started on March 26.