Soccer player’s food parcels bring mixed emotions
The visit of celebrity soccer players on Wednesday 20 May was interlaced with mix emotions.
There was the elation of the youngsters in seeing their hero’s in person. On the other hand there was the expectation of families for the alleviation of their problems and then the disappointment of those that were not elected to be one of the few families that received a much needed food parcel.
The soccer stars included Ronwen Williams, who is currently the goalkeeper of Bafana Bafana, Grant Kekana, Aubrey Modiba, Boalefa Pule and Edward Motale who used to play for Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns and are currently doing duty in the Supersport United team.
The donations were solely provided by the Grant Kekana Foundation, a charity organisation that brings goodwill to the rural areas.
The handover was scheduled to take place in Zuma View in the Bela-Bela Township. The celebrities were escorted by the Bela-Bela police and Bela-Bela traffic department.
The word had spread amongst the community that food parcels were being handed out and they turned up only to find out, with disappointment, that the selected few to receive these handouts were elderly citizens who had been notified in advance to be present.
David Raborolo, head of communications at the Bela-Bela municipality, said they adhered to the criteria of the Grant Kekana Foundation with the selection of the recipients.
When the social distancing among the crowd became a problem, the organisers decided to move the event to the municipality where the soccer players and the recipients received a hearty welcome from municipal councillors.
The opportunity to pose with said stars for a photo was a social pinnacle.
The elderly recipients expressed their gratitude towards the players and the Foundation. In a comment to The Post one of the recipients said that the people of Zuma View are suffering from hunger due to the lockdown. They reiterated that they are not able to work under lockdown and thus are not able to provide for their families.
It did not take long before allegations went viral on social media, where users pointed fingers at the ANC councillors, calling them out for providing the food parcels or using the event to boost their political influence.
Raborolo disclaimed these allegations and stated that the municipality did not contribute to the provisioning of the food parcels whatsoever. They adhered to the protocol for councillors to welcome celebrities to the municipality.
“The event was properly managed, but unfortunately the foundation only singled out a few elderly residents to receive the donations. The soccer stars did state in Zuma View, that if they were able to obtain more resources, they will return to Bela-Bela,” said Raborolo.
The department of social development are still distributing food parcels in the municipal area.
