'Food baskets in lieu of income lost in lockdown'
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Sunday May 3, 2020 18:46
Government has budgeted about P150 million for social protection packages for people affected by the imposed lockdown due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The amount caters for food baskets and their transportation as well as for remuneration of temporary social workers roped in to assist during the pandemic. The programme is rolled out through local government authorities.
Since the assessment to identify eligible households began, there have been mixed reports with some members of the community questioning the criteria used to qualify one for the programme.
There have also been question marks as to what exactly does the food basket contain.
Seeletso told MmegiOnline that all local authorities across the country use a standard assessment form to identify those eligible to receive the food basket.
He said under this programme, the idea is to give those who do not have their regular income due to the lockdown imposed by government in the fight against COVID-19.
“We are looking at those whose income has been affected because of this lockdown such as small entrepreneurs and street vendors. Those are our target during this period,” he said.
Seeletso said information on the number of people who have been assessed and assisted with food baskets is still filtering in, but there has been good progress.
Like any other initiative, Seeletso said the programme is not short of challenges. As such, he pleaded with members of the community to take responsibility and cooperate with social workers in order for the initiative to be rolled out smoothly.
He said there is a tendency by people to trumpet a problem, instead of taking responsibility to resolve it.
Seeletso also explained that the National Social Policy (on Destitute Persons) gives guidelines on what a person who qualifies to be assisted with a food basket has to get. This, he said, includes the three types of food, which are carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins.
Moreover, he explained that there is also an outline on the amount of food baskets that may be given to a household looking at the number of dependents the beneficiary has. He said in some cases, social workers use their discretion in their assessment of how much a household needs to survive in a month.