No councillor should be found distributing food parcels, says Lindiwe Zulu
The minister says they must assist in directing NPOs and NGOs to exactly where the Covid-19 relief is needed.
Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Social Development, can be seen during a press briefing at the DIRCO Media Centre, 24 March 2020, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has said that no ward councillor should be found distributing food parcels during the lockdown.
Zulu was on Monday responding to members of the media when she said food parcels should not be made “a political football”, a message she said the government has stated repeatedly.
Of the three spheres of government, national, provincial and local, the latter is “closer to the people”, which better positions ward councillors to assist in the delivery of Covid-19 relief, the minister said.
She said the department would like to reiterate that “no councillor should be found to be the ones who are distributing the food”.
“They must assist us in directing the NPOs and NGOs where exactly the need is in the main,” Zulu said.
The minister said that assistance during this period had not been one-sided as councillors from different political parties in different wards across the country genuinely “step up” and assist in the provision of Covid-19 relief.
She said again that councillors must avoid, “at all costs”, being “physically” involved in the distribution of food.
The minister urged those with information of councillors being involved in the distribution of food to immediately report this to law enforcement agencies so that action could be taken.
Zulu urged communities to avoid taking the law in their own hands which sometimes results in the homes of councillors being burnt down.
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