‘There is a growing demand for food’ – Muslim Association after handing out parcels in Joburg
Although the intervention in Zamimpilo did not involve the department, Lesufi said the approach used by his department required people to be appropriately documented.
Not discriminating
“If people are not documented to be in the country, it is unfortunate. We will request them to deal with that aspect, so they can be in the queue. We are not discriminating on the basis that you are a South African or not.
“Our approach is that, if you are inside South Africa, appropriately documented and in need of assistance, we will be open-minded to provide that kind of assistance. “
The department was working with institutions, like the SA Human Rights Commission and Home Affairs, to ensure that people in need of support were not excluded.
The MEC has urged non-profit organisations to work with the department of social development to coordinate food distribution, so as to avoid confusion and duplicating delivery to the same beneficiaries.
“We don’t want to remove [organisations] from distributing and we are saying, let’s do it together and it will assist us,” Lesufi said.
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