Food relief: Government must assist NGOs, not prosecute them

4 May 2020

According to reports NGOs across the country are frustrated by red tape in applying for permits to distribute food while Government is attempting to centralise this function under an incapable state.

There have been reports of individuals being arrested and NGOs being harassed by law enforcement officials for handing out food in communities - all because they did not have proper documentation.

We are calling on Government to make it as easy as possible for NGOs who are providing food relief and who have been recognised as essential services to obtain the necessary permits swiftly and efficiently and for them to be able to distribute food to as many people in need as possible.

Red tape must be replaced by a red carpet for these organisations. NGOs should be able to operate optimally and without being harassed in their life-saving role.

We are calling on the Minister of Cooperative Governance, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the rest of the National Command Council (NCC) to be less concerned about the policing of permits and more concerned about the hunger crisis that is engulfing the country.

It is baffling that the Government has made it near impossible for organisations and individuals to assist them in this vital task. The Government is increasingly speaking from two mouths, with Ministers stomping over the goodwill of the public with their obsession with permits and seeming callous attitude to the desperation ordinary South Africans face.

Government, especially the NCC, has been hellbent on centralising every single aspect of our lives during this Covid- 19 crisis and now they want to centralise food relief. NGOs and private citizens want to help their fellow South Africans and communities and should be allowed to do so, especially in light of the Department of Social Development’s failures.

Government must clarify exactly what travel permission is necessary for organizations that are feeding people and it must ensure that such permits are easy to obtain.

It must also make clear that centralising food relief through provinces or municipalities is inefficient and a gateway to corruption. The ANC should rescind any such instructions that have been issued. Hungry South Africans should get food, not be kept hungry for political gain.

Issued by James Lorimer, Member of the Shadow Cabinet, 4 May 2020