Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Afrikaans from Cllr Gert Du Plessis, the DA Caucus Leader in Rustenburg Local Municipality
Since the lockdown, Rustenburg Local Municipality has operated under secrecy regarding the budget and distribution of food parcels.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to the Speaker of Rustenburg Local Municipality, Shiela Mabale Huma, requesting a full list of all food parcels donated to the municipality and all beneficiaries that have received assistance.
At the beginning of the lockdown, the municipality requested councillors to provide a list of ten families from their respective wards who need assistance through food parcels.
Considering the population size of each ward and the effects of the lockdown on people’s livelihoods ten food parcels per councillor was not enough.
Most DA councillors received the ten food parcels and continued to lobby across different stakeholders for more donations to assist families.
However, following the draft regulations that shut down soup kitchens and placing stiff regulations on the distribution of food parcels the DA councillors were stopped from continuing with their efforts to assist community members.
There have been complaints across communities regarding the distribution of food parcels, many families have not received any form of assistance from the municipality.
The DA will write to the Rustenburg Municipality requesting full disclosure regarding the handling of food parcels.
The municipality must reveal the number of donations it received from organizations and private individuals, how much the municipality has spent on food parcels and how many families have benefitted from this.
The effects of the lockdown should not suppress the democratic process of transparency and accountability.
The DA will continue to play its oversight role to ensure that no one unduly benefits from this process and that communities across the municipality are assisted.