By Gemma Ritchie for amaBhungane• 9 July 2020, A resident gets bread and soup during a food handout by the Hennops River Revival NGO in Pretoria at a trash recycling area on day 61 of the national lockdown. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has clarified who qualifies for food parcels during the national lockdown to dispel fake news doing the rounds. SASSA assistance The Social South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has a Social Relief of Distress (SRD) initiative in the form of food parcels as a temporary provision. Technical enquiries regarding this bid may be directed to Mr. Shaun Minnies at tel. Faced with having to reissue the tender, Sassa approached service providers coming to the end of their 2016 three-year contracts and asked them to extend their service by three months until November 2019. Don’t apply for South African food parcels on Facebook – phone Sassa instead 01:45 | 20th May 2020 (GMT) “How to apply food parcel for unemployed people in South Africa for Covid-19,” reads an 11 May 2020 Facebook post . Sassa advertised for new service providers from. Every family that needs food must be assisted. Select which newsletters you'd like to receive, From November 2019 to the end of March 2020, Sassa delivered zero food parcels in six provinces despite the fact that, according to the. Sassa added that it was in the process of awarding the next round of SRD bids for the upcoming three-year cycle. Sassa proposed to contract them for six months while running the new tender. The food parcels will also be provided to families where everyone is unemployed, child-headed households and people who cannot work for 6 months for medical reasons. The final arbitrator remains the Department of Social Development. In the video below, Makhura says more people are now in dire need of food supplies as a result of the lockdown. ” We warned them that this pandemic must not be used for political point scoring and for corruption, it must be used to assist the need during this difficult time. 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To make matters worse, service providers appointed in 2016 whose contracts had ended in November 2019 told amaBhungane that they sat with millions of rands worth of food parcels in their warehouses because of uncertainty about their contracts being extended. SASSA has requested that ward councillors facilitate the necessary administrative processes in relation to who qualifies for food parcels in terms of the regulations. Sassa told amaBhungane that it did not have to give notice: “A contractual relationship automatically ends at the end of the stipulated contract.”. SASSA provides food parcel relief The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has provided a solution to temporary disability grants which lapsed or expired in March 2020. The Social Relief of Distress may be in the form of a food parcel or a voucher to buy food… He has urged law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in probing the matter. “Issuing of food parcels is dependent on the budget and applicants meeting the eligibility criteria. Gauteng Premier David Makhura has condemned alleged corruption in the distribution of food parcels to the needy during the lockdown period. Economic Freedom Fighters leader in Mpumalanga Collen Sedibe has laid charges of fraud and corruption in the Nelspruit police station, against an African National Congress Member of the Provincial Legislature and a Regional Director at the Social Development Department. It says people who want to apply for food parcels must either call or send a WhatsApp message or a “please call me” text to one of two phone numbers. 0861 265 263. Watermelons were originally cultivated in Africa. The appointment of these service providers is for a period of three months ending in June 2020. Click here to see other benefits and to sign-up to our reader community supporting quality, independent journalism. Two others of the 2016 cohort have since written to Treasury querying the deviation and asking why Sassa did not give them 30 days’ notice to end their contracts. But this did not have to be the case if it were not for the red tape surrounding a cancelled tender in August 2019 that led to a delay in the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) appointing service providers to supply and distribute what it calls social relief of distress (SRD). Since the lockdown in March 2020, it distributed 218,413 in partnership with the Solidarity Fund and 523,490 in partnership with nonprofits and via its own social workers. Now, these service providers are frustrated that the costs they incurred to meet Sassa’s needs have gone to waste. He alleges that the food parcels were seen delivered at the house of the Member of the Legislature at night in Thekwane South near Mbombela. Be an amaB Supporter to help us do more. Bidders had been asked to extend the validity of their bids. Those who did not were automatically excluded, but there was a problem with how this was done. Social grants – Coronavirus COVID-19 SASSA food parcels: Who qualifies for them? Northern Cape, Free State and North West still had valid contracts. Social Relief of Distress programme, that is handing out food parcels to the needy people, encountered a protest at Ngangelizwe township in Mthatha. Budget Tax Guide - 2021. The department of social development, the parent department of Sassa, separately distributed many more parcels. Food Parcels. Sassa offers food parcels to desperate families in KZN By Zimasa Matiwane - 15 April 2020 Sassa in KZN is offering food parcels during lockdown to poor people who meet certain criteria. Removing advertising from your browsing experience is one of them - we don't just block ads, we redesign our pages to look smarter and load faster. SRDs are food parcels and food vouchers supplied to people facing unexpected hardship where indigent families have lost a breadwinner, or are awaiting payment of an approved social grant, or are victims of a disaster. ... which kind of sums up 2020. “Prospective bidders were not given a reasonable time to respond, resulting with [some] bidders not having seen the emails to respond before the expiry date of the validity of the tender,” Dumisile Ndlovu, the Sassa general manager of supply chain management, wrote in response to questions from amaBhungane. Faced with having to reissue the tender, Sassa approached service providers coming to the end of their 2016 three-year contracts and asked them to extend their service by. Of the total food parcels delivered by 25 May 2020, Sassa’s contribution amounted to a measly 9%. Be an. In the confusion, some took on new leases for warehouses and retained stockpiles of food, not knowing that Treasury had told Sassa that it could not extend the old contracts beyond the end of 2019. Approval was granted, but the appointment of service providers was eventually concluded in April 2020 for a period of three months ending in June 2020. Sassa offers food parcels to desperate families in KZN 15 April 2020 - 15:53 By Zimasa Matiwane Sassa in KZN is offering food parcels during lockdown to … 14 April 2020 4:55 PM. Of the temporarily appointed service providers. , the department of social development told Parliament in May 2020, where one food parcel is estimated to feed four people, but this excludes donations and contributions made by various nonprofits acting independently of the department. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Uitenhage is calling for calm after dozens of frustrated residents protested outside its offices, demanding food parcels on Tuesday. Social security agency SASSA has asked families facing distress during the lockdown to contact them and receive food parcels. There are many great benefits to being a Maverick Insider. The provincial budget for the 2020/2021 financial year for Sassa for the provision of food parcels was R45,584,000. Makhura briefed the media on Tuesday during his visit to a COVID-19 food bank storage in Watloo, east of Pretoria. Yet, by 25 May 2020, Sassa had delivered only 73,493 food parcels during 2020. Other government departments, the Solidarity Fund and nonprofits had to step in. By Don Makatile Nov 22, 2020 But by December 2019, Sassa had still not finalised the new tender and it was only readvertised on 17 January 2020. How Those In Need Can Access Sassa Food Parcels During Lockdown. This SARS tax pocket guide provides a synopsis of the most important tax, duty and levy related information for 2021/22. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has clarified who qualifies for food parcels during the national lockdown to dispel fake news doing the rounds. The allocated budget for the 2020/21 is R407-million and the agency can only provide assistance limited to available budget allocation.”, amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, , an independent non-profit, produced this story. “This food bank must only distribute to people vetted and verified because they must go only to those who are needy. SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF FOOD PARCELS FOR THE PERIOD OF 01 JULY 2020 TO 30 JUNE 2023 Tenders are hereby invited from service providers for the supply and delivery of food parcels for the period of 01 July 2020 to 30 June 2023. Of the total food parcels delivered by 25 May 2020, Sassa’s contribution amounted to a measly 9%. to 5 July 2019 for the six provinces. Sassa admitted that it had not contracted any service providers for the first three months of 2020, but denied there was a food parcel shortage. “Food parcels are one of the means or ways we issue out [the Social Relief of Distress] grant,” says SASSA Eastern Cape spokesperson Luzuko Qina. *The amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, an independent non-profit, produced this story. The impact of the bungling is clear from Sassa’s own figures. In the interim, Sassa requested approval from Treasury for a bid deviation to source quotations from service providers that passed a functionality assessment in the cancelled 2019 bid. The department of social development, the parent department of Sassa, separately distributed many more parcels. , almost a third of South Africans experience severe food insecurity, which means the household has either run out of food or in some cases, has gone days without eating a single meal. Some of the 2016 service providers anticipated that their contracts would have to be rolled over again to fill the gap. The community is accusing community leaders of being unfair in the process of choosing beneficiaries. Sassa says in a statement that food parcels are provided as temporary relief for those who cannot meet their family’s most basic needs. SASSA is clearly ill-equipped to process and distribute food parcel at the large scale that is required during this pandemic. Names will be forwarded to the relevant SASSA official by 16:30 today, 8 November 2020. However, applicants can call the toll-free number or customer care number. Yet, by 25 May 2020, Sassa had delivered only 73,493 food parcels during 2020. “Issuing of food parcels is dependent on the budget and applicants meeting the eligibility criteria. SRD is paid to South African citizens, permanent residents or refugees who have insufficient means. Northern Cape, Free State and North West still had valid contracts. Of the temporarily appointed service providers, only two remained from the 2016 cohort. SASSA is providing social relief of distress in the form of food parcels to beneficiaries whose disability grants expired in April 2020 as an interim measure to cushion the impact of the termination of the grant benefit. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook). In 2017 and 2018, it delivered 573,196 and 443,687 SRDs respectively in the form of food parcels and vouchers, according to the agency’s annual reports. Amathole: R11.4m to purchase 8,347 food parcels, or 49 per ward; OR Tambo: R10.5m to purchase 7,680 food parcels, or 53 per ward; Makhura was reacting to the allegations by South African Civic Organisation (Sanco) in Tshwane that there is discrimination in the distribution of food parcels and that they are not reaching the intended beneficiaries. Social relief of distress is temporary provision of assistance intended for persons in such a dire material need that they are unable to meet their families’ most basic needs. The DA, therefore, proposes that municipalities, that have the necessary capacity and funding, re-open local soup kitchens in accordance with strict social distancing protocols. “The cost of a food parcel is between R1,300 and R1,500. For all official information and updates regarding COVID-19, visit the South African Department of Health's website at www.sacoronavirus.co.za. SASSA is providing social relief of distress in the form of food parcels to beneficiaries whose disability grants expired in April 2020 as an interim measure to cushion the impact of the termination of the grant benefit. She did not respond to questions about when the problem was picked up and why excluded bidders were not simply asked once more about extending the validity of their bids. We are also going to report to the command centre that we are going to need more food as more families continue to come forward,” says Makhura. Food parcels are available for anyone who may need them 2020-04-17T19:33:48+02:00 Apr 17th, 2020 | Video Clips | Find out how you can get the help you need, visit https://www.sassa.gov.za/ Ndlovu said Sassa was advised by National Treasury to cancel the tender as the exclusions might have been unfair. Sassa said a WhatsApp message displaying an application form with a Sassa logo, has been making its rounds, calling on the public to apply for food parcels… Sassa says in a statement that food parcels are provided as temporary relief for those who cannot meet their family’s most basic needs. According to the Sassa spokesperson in the Free State, Motshewa Maleka, applicants will be required […] By August 2019, Sassa should have appointed new service providers to supply SRDs for the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape. When the government slammed the brakes on the economy to give the country a fighting chance against the Covid-19 pandemic, the safety nets to help families who had lost their only forms of income, and the awaited social grants, were not in place. The lapse resulted in some beneficiaries not being paid their grants. Sign up for our newsletter to get more. SASSA will issue Social Relief of Distress (SRD) in the form of food parcels as a temporary provision of assistance intended for persons in such dire need that they are unable to meet their or their families’ most basic needs. Sassa clarifies demise of much-needed food parcels. Corruption in the distribution of food parcels. “I would not say there was [a] shortage, but unprecedented high demand [was] given birth to by the national disaster, and the fact that the Sassa’s offices had to lock down and therefore [the] processing of grants application was delayed increasing the demand for immediate relief of distress,” Ndlovu said. From November 2019 to the end of March 2020, Sassa delivered zero food parcels in six provinces despite the fact that, according to the State of Food Security report 2019, almost a third of South Africans experience severe food insecurity, which means the household has either run out of food or in some cases, has gone days without eating a single meal. The department of social development, the parent department of Sassa, separately distributed many more parcels. Yet, by 25 May, Sassa had delivered only 73 493 food parcels this year. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sassa extended eligibility for food parcel provision to child-headed households as well as to those dependent on other relief programmes which were shuttered during the lockdown, such as the National School Nutrition Programme. This means each district would get R5.9-million for food parcels. Since the lockdown in March, it distributed 218 413 in partnership with the Solidarity Fund and 523 490 in partnership with non-profits and via its own social workers. SASSA KZN CONTACT DETAILS FOR FOOD PARCEL APPLICATIONS: SASSA KZN Regional Office: 033 846 3400; SASSA KZN What’s App (send sms only): 0716071514; Both these lines will only be accessible next week Tuesday, 14 April 2020, due to the Easter weekend. Like it? Although many of the applicants for the Sassa food parcels are self-referrals, the agency works with the departments of health and education and nonprofits to identify households which require assistance. Over 400 food hampers are distributed daily. Sassa KZN contact details for food parcel applications: Sassa KZN Regional Office: 033 846 3400 Sassa KZN Whatsapp (sms only): 0716071514 Both … Please sign in or register to enable this feature. Together, the initiatives have fed over 3.1-million people, the department of social development told Parliament in May 2020, where one food parcel is estimated to feed four people, but this excludes donations and contributions made by various nonprofits acting independently of the department. Sassa advertised for new service providers from 14 June to 5 July 2019 for the six provinces. Like it? Those who qualify are people whose disability grants lapsed in March, people who have been hit by natural disasters, and if a breadwinner has passed away in the past year also qualify. SASSA Invites Service Providers For The Supply Of SRD Parcels For 3 Years For Western Cape Region-Bid Received Reg Food Parcels - Late Bid Submissions - Gauteng Region Food Parcels - Bid Register - … Sassa in the Eastern Cape says those who receive food parcels are those who are in need. Minister Zulu says to date they have distributed 40 841 food parcels nationwide. However, the tender was cancelled after the bid adjudication committee identified a technical hitch. The department of environment, forestry and fisheries supplied 1,500 food parcels. Due to the closure of the offices of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) during lockdown, beneficiaries are not allowed to visit SASSA offices to apply food parcels. SASSA provides food parcel relief. The allocated budget for the 2020/21 is R407-million and the agency can only provide assistance limited to available budget allocation.” DM. A “huge demand for food parcels” during South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown has led the social development department to develop a “new system” to “verify individuals that qualify”, claims a Facebook post from 13 April 2020. The funds have been divided across districts, with … SASSA, DSD and Hawks collaboration nabs alleged Disability Grants Fraudsters. Sedibe alleges that the two are involved in the stealing of food parcels meant to provide relief to the poor during the lockdown.