The chairman of the District Command Council in the Gert Sibande District Municipality has strongly advised councillors within the district against getting too closely associated with the distribution of food parcels.
Councillor Muzi Chirwa, who is also the District Executive Mayor, made this statement during the District Command Council’s virtual meeting on Monday, 25 May, in line with the directive by the Mpumalanga MEC for Cogta, Mr Mandla Msibi.
“No councillor in the district must violate the instruction that councillors should not be involved in the distribution of food parcels,” he stated.
He said that councillors’ role should be to ensure that impoverished people in the communities are placed on the beneficiary list managed by the Department of Social Development (DSD).
“We should only monitor that food is received by beneficiaries,” councillor Chirwa said.
Councillor Chirwa further emphasised that stakeholders who wish to partner with them in providing food parcels, must all do so through the DSD.
“No one must come with different lists which deviate from the DSD’s list.
“There must be coherence and integration of this significant activity.”
The meeting noted that the country will be moving to alert level 3 of the lockdown and that all institutions in the district in this regard should be well prepared.
Councillor Chirwa also requested that relevant municipalities provide sanitisation services to the traditional council offices within their jurisdictions.
The meeting noted and condemned school burglaries which continue to occur.
The public is encouraged to report any information they may have on these illegal activities.
Councillor Chirwa requested leaders in the district to monitor the opening of schools within the district on Monday 1 June, in supporting the Department of Education.
All government stakeholders presented their progress reports to the DCC according to the different clusters and centres.
The DCC is scheduled to convene its next virtual meeting on 1 June.
