Senior citizens return empty handed

HUNDREDS of senior citizens were sent home empty handed after they waited for hours for food parcels in Ward 20 and 21.

Each year, to wrap up the year, the municipality hosts Christmas parties in each ward where grannies and grandpas are treated to lunch and receive food parcels.

Ritta Zuma (68) from Ward 20 said what happened this year was a disgrace.

“This has never happened before, we are always treated to a nice lunch and treats. We have always left happy and looking forward to Christmas. I think what happened this year was uncalled for. Hundreds of grannies had to be sent home at 3.45pm after spending the entire day waiting. For breakfast, we were given a scone and a glass of juice and served very spicy breyani,” she said.

Ritta said they were not even provided with water. “The grannies left crying because some of them have nothing and they were looking forward to these food parcels.

Ward 20 councillor, Mandla Mbambo, said the problem was with the service provider.

“We kept calling the supplier who did not answer his phone. I had to wait at the venue because they had to fetch the chairs and the truck with the parcels came at 5.30pm,” he added.

Mbambo said he called the office of the speaker and was told that they would have to set another date.

“I was told by the truck driver that they had to deliver parcels all around Durban and in other areas they had to remove the parcels from the trailers and use another truck as some areas had very bad roads,” said Mbambo.

eThekwini Municipality’s, acting head of communications, Mandla Nsele said, “Due to circumstances which were beyond the supplier’s control some senior citizens did not receive their food parcels during a recent Senior Citizen’s Christmas party.

“This is regretted, all councillor’s in the respective Wards have been tasked to distribute the food parcels to all those who did not receive them on the day of the event,” he said.