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North West Social Development MEC Boitumelo Moiloa has invited “anyone to present substantive evidence of any corrupt activity” in the distribution of relief food parcels across the province.
Coming on the back of allegations this week that friends, relatives and closed associates of Moiloa had scored food parcel distribution contracts and that goods were dispatched selectively – an allegation that reached the health and social development portfolio committee in the provincial legislature – Petrus Siko, spokesperson for provincial department, said they were only interested in proof.
“We invite anyone to present substantive evidence of any corrupt activity to our department for further investigations, [so that we] can institute disciplinary action where necessary,” Siko told City Press on Friday.
In the absence of proof, he said, the allegations amounted to “cheap politicking and unnecessary malicious attack intended at tarnishing the image of the department led by Moiloa during her tireless efforts to ensure social justice and food security for all people in the North West province”.
Read: North West denies selective distribution of Covid-19 relief food parcels
He said the department was “following proper procurement processes in the sourcing of all goods and services”.
The available food parcels were procured from companies that were contracted by the department in January last year, Siko added.
He said to ensure that food parcels reached the most vulnerable community members, the department, in collaboration with the SA Social Security Agency, had a toll free number to a regional centre in the provincial capital of Mahikeng which handled all applications for social relief from distressed families during the lockdown period.
“So far we have handled 2 790 calls across the province. We received complaints from some community members on our Facebook page [North West Department of Social Development] citing that they were unable to go through the toll-free number.
“To speed up applications, we have introduced two WhatsApp numbers for every district,” Siko said.
He added that under normal circumstances the department would have a social relief of distress programme.
“To identify households in need, our social workers undertake door-to-door expeditions to profile them and compile family circumstance reports detailing their socioeconomic conditions and recommend departmental interventions.
“During the lockdown, our social workers followed the same route to ensure that proper procedures were followed.”
He said “to assist communities that have not yet received food parcels, the department has intensified its profiling and verification processes by social workers based in various wards, and subsequently increased the number of call centre agents to handle a higher volume of calls per day.
“The department is also engaging private companies to provide donations in the form of food parcels and other necessary basic amenities.”
Regarding allegations of food parcels stored at the Madiba Banquet Hall in Potchefstroom, Siko said the hall was being used as a storage facility for all donations and any other food parcels procured by the department.
“Up to 461 food parcels have already been distributed to profiled community members. Out of this number, Ventersdorp received 98 and 363 were for community members in Potchefstroom.
“These community members are qualifying beneficiaries who were profiled to ascertain their socioeconomic status before they received food parcels,” he said.
On Wednesday, the health and social development portfolio committee paid a surprise visit to the hall to establish the reasons behind the delays in the handing out of the stored food parcels. Committee chairperson Priscilla Williams, who had earlier in the week lamented a lack of accountability from the department, led the inspection.
Williams had said in a video circulating on social media that the committee had tried to get a report from the department on social relief interventions, but it was not forthcoming.
Siko said on Friday: “It has recently come to the attention of the department that the letter bearing questions from the portfolio committee on social development was sent to various officials on April 10.
“It was unfortunate that, owing to the department’s observation of strict lockdown regulations, the letter which was sent electronically couldn’t get the attention of its intended recipients on time,” he said.
He said it was the culture of the department that under normal circumstances all questions raised by the portfolio committee would be answered promptly and in detail.
“The MEC only became aware of the situation following the letter sent on the April 21 as a follow-up to the one sent earlier. We will, however, institute an internal departmental investigation to unearth what could have been the rationale behind the delays,” said Siko.
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