SARS and dtic donate seized clothing, blankets, footwear to flood victims

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (dtic) have donated seized clothing, blankets and footwear to flood victims in Kwazulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, North West, and Free State.

They joined forces through an initiative called Project Sizani, to make it possible for seized items to be given to the needy.

Seized items are strictly regulated by the Customs Act that is administered by Sars and the Counterfeit Goods Act, administered  by the dtic and a 2009 and 2020 NEDLAC agreement which states that seized goods must be destroyed.

Sars, however, realised that the flood-stricken victims could make use of the items, and through several engagements with approval from various stakeholders, managed to bypass these requirements.

“This included a “once-off deviation” from the NEDLAC agreement, as agreed upon during a meeting with key stakeholders in the Clothing Textile Footwear and Leather Industry (CTFL) to enable the donation of specific CTFL goods that have been seized and forfeited to SARS to the victims of the severe weather events of April 2022,” read a statement from the revenue service.

Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter showed gratitude to all government departments for making this intitiative possible.

“We hope and trust that this gesture of goodwill will go a long way in mitigating suffering that was brought about by this natural calamity. The blankets, especially now during winter, will a make difference to all” said Kieswetter.

Distribution of the items

The process of distributing the items to the victims will be overseen by the Governance Task Team (GTT) working closely with the National Disaster Management Committee.

The GTT will be responsible for making sure all donated goods reach the victims, while the Department of Social Development (DSD) monitors on ground level and the shelters that are currently housing the victims.

The KZN premier’s office set out a process on how the donations will be distributed, the quantities based on the number of people in need and a plan to ensure none of the items gets stolen.

Pilot programme

The roll-out of the pilot programme initiative for the donations of blankets started last week, due to the need for blankets in the eThekwini municipality.

The victims in shelters will keep warm this winter due to the Pilot programme which donated 1612 blankets during the seven day pilot programme roll-out.

Around 38 806 seized blankets are being earmarked to be distributed to the affected provinces.

Talks with the Eastern Cape and North West are underway to initiate similar KZN operations in the provinces.

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