Cape Town to receive additional R100m in Covid-19 relief funding from Germany

The City of Cape Town and Germany have signed a financial agreement which will provide an additional R100 million in Covid-19 relief funding.

According to the German embassy, the R100 million tops up an ongoing cooperation programme and will be used to support more soup kitchens across Cape Town as well as Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, for the development of local food gardens, and to stimulate the informal economy through the provision of food vouchers that can be redeemed at local spaza shops.

“Based on an initial assessment, the funds will allow for the provision of 25,000 food vouchers per month for a three-month period,” German embassy spokesperson Steffen Scholz said.

The food vouchers will be provided to ECD staff and pupils and their families, and residents growing food gardens in their communities. They will also be used to support soup kitchens in Hanover Park, Manenberg, Nyanga, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha (Kuyasa, Monwabisi Park and Harare).

Impact

Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said he could see how devastating the impact of the national lockdown was on residents who had lost jobs and were unable to provide for their families.

“We have already worked throughout the lockdown to support soup kitchens with equipment and ingredients so that they can provide a warm meal to residents in need, but we have seen that many of our residents still need assistance with food aid,” added Plato.

German Ambassador Martin Schäfer said the funding was about solidarity with the most affected, inspiring hope and giving comfort.

“And it is about strengthening local communities and those who care for their families, friends and neighbours,” he added.

According to the embassy, the City will work with well-established NGO partner, VPUU NPC (Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrade) to ensure that the funding is allocated to those most in need, and that regular reports are provided to the German implementing partner, KfW German Development Bank.

Plato said he was grateful for the financial support because he knew how much it would benefit residents.

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