Social welfare beneficiaries who were given food parcels last month were ripped off by about R500.
Social welfare beneficiaries who were given food parcels last month were ripped off by about R500.
Grocott's Mail reporters investigated claims that beneficiaries who received food parcels at BB Zondani hall on Thursday 19 February were getting less than they should.
Our team found that although they'd been told to sign forms saying they'd received food to the value of R1 270, the parcels they received from South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) officials were worth R700 at the most.
To make matters worse, the recipients say the food – meant to see them through a month – lasts barely two weeks.
They said the food parcels were smaller than usual.
Speaking to Grocott's Mail from her home in Xolani this week, a woman who did not want to be named said she had applied to receive food parcels last year.
She'd got a phone call from the agency informing her that she qualified.
But when she went to BB Zondani community hall to collect her parcel she was disappointed.
The woman says she has to share the meagre supplies with five relatives who live with her.
"I don't know what changed because the first time we received such a parcel it had lots of bulk food supplies. Now they just give us small things.
"The only big thing was a 12.5kg bag of maize meal," she said.
Grocott's Mail compiled a list of the items provided in the food parcels and added up their prices at a local supermarket to estimate what they should cost.
The total, R700, falls about R500 short of the R1 270 the recipients signed for.
Sidima Madolwana, who received a food parcel on 19 February, said the fact that he could fit all the food he was given in a wheelbarrow proves it's unlikely the food is worth that amount.
A woman who also received food from the hall that day said every month the food they collect is less.
The document the recipients were given to sign reads as follows: "Your application for social relief of distress has been approved. You will receive a food parcel to the value of R1 270.00."
Provincial SASSA spokesman Luzuko Qina was not available to answer questions regarding this issue at the time of going to press.
Yesterday, Qina said he had not received an email sent to him four times and asked that Grocott's Mail resend it.
Qina refused a telephone interview, saying he was not in front of his computer.
The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) is a scheme by which the government assists those in need of relief, according to a previous statement from Qina.
He explained that any citizen in distress could apply for this provision from their offices.
He emphasised that this is not a provision for people who are unemployed – only for those who are in distress.
"Some citizens misunderstand SRD and believe that it is meant for the unemployed, yet it is not.
SRD is available all year round for those who meet the criteria," he said.
*Food items in each parcel:
Two 500g packets of Top Taste soup
5kg Sasko white bread flour
5kg Econo white sugar
5kg Econo sugar beans
One big can of Saldanha pilchards
One packet of tea bags
Two small packets of carrots
One 750ml Excela Soya Oil
One bag of butter nuts
12.5kg White Star maize meal
One packet of sunlight soap (two bars inside)
5kg Champion samp
5 packets of dry yeast
1 big bag of onions
