Swamped aid centres shut
DEPOTS used to distribute donated goods to residents affected by the Knysna fires were closed yesterday by the municipality.
Knysna mayor Eleanore Bouw-Spies said they had had no choice but to shut them.
“People from all parts started coming. We sent in our staff and law enforcement to stop them so we can pull back and strategise,” she said.
Bouw-Spies said word had gone out that Knysna had an abundance to offer.
“The people are going to these places to help themselves. We can’t have all these different centres.”
She said a group of people from outside would be appointed to manage the donations and they were working on this strategy.
Bouw-Spies said they appreciated all the donations.
“The amount for the town was overwhelming. People come together during disasters. And we are grateful. Truckloads are coming in.”
This follows the arrival of thousands of people, many suspected to be chancers, at churches and other aid distribution centres in the town over the past few days.
At St George’s Anglican Church, which was being used as a distribution centre by Lions Club International and Gift of the Givers charity, about 2 000 people were queuing daily for food parcels and clothing.
According to an unnamed volunteer, a bus ferrying people from Peddie to Cape Town had stopped outside the church on Monday and passengers had joined the queue as they had heard there was free food.
Another volunteer, Gene Kruger, said due to the chaos during the fires, affected residents had not been registered by the authorities, which meant there was no way to tell genuine fire victims from the many chancers queuing up for donations.
A number of people approached by The Herald said they had come from places such as George and Uniondale.
Other aid centres said the municipality had only started formally registering affected residents yesterday.
Pastor Steve Olivier, who heads the Knysna Vineyard church, said volunteers at its packed aid distribution centre had begun registering the hundreds of affected residents who arrived for donations daily.