The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has described as “disgusting and disturbing” reports of people stealing food meant for the poor.
South Africa has been rolling out some intervention programs during a period of lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“Over the past three weeks, we have been confronted with distressing images of desperate people clamouring for food parcels at distribution centres and of community protests against food shortages,” Ramaphosa said.
The president said individuals involved in such theft acts as well as hoarding, selling or diverting of food aid would be dealt with.
“A number of provinces have received reports that callous individuals, some of them allegedly government officials, are hoarding or selling food parcels earmarked for the needy and destitute, or diverting them to their friends and families,” he wrote in his weekly bulletin.
He said efforts are ongoing to help the poor survive the current restrictions at this time of crisis.
“We had to act quickly to save lives. And we must acknowledge that in the days and weeks that have followed, the provision of support to our country’s most vulnerable citizens has been slower than required, and that lapses have occurred.
However, the payment of social grants has proceeded relatively smoothly, and after a number of technical challenges, the food distribution system is being streamlined.”
South Africa has recorded over 3,000 cases of the coronavirus and is one of the leading countries on the continent to have conducted thousands of tests.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
